The Marauder's School Years: Year Five
by AlbusSeverusPotter7
Summary: In the fifth installment of the series, the Marauders, Lily, and Demi return to Hogwarts; the land of pranking, magic, Quidditch, relationships, unauthorized field trips and (of course) OWLs. Tempers rise as the Gryffindors begin to realize just what is waiting outside of the castle's walls. Meanwhile, one relationship decays, as the seeds of others begin to blossom.
1. Summer to School

The summer was finally drawing to a close, as Lily and Severus walked back to her house after spending hours wandering the streets of Cokeworth. He dropped her off outside her doorstep, before waving aside her offer to come in. "I can't Lils," he said sadly, as he backtracked down the drive, "I have to help my mum with supper. But I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you later Sev," Lily replied before using her key to let herself into the house. Her parents were both on their way home from work, while Petunia spent the day with some of her friends from school. Whenever Lily was out of the house, Petunia would stay, and vice versa. It had gotten to the point that after four years of spending her holidays being taunted and ignored by her elder sister, Lily had given up on trying to mend her relationship. She hauled herself up the stairs and into her room, where she promptly began gathering things for a shower. She heard the door open again, and knowing it was Petunia, carried on with her business.

Her elder sister came up the stairs and walked past Lily's room, to her own. Lily sighed before heading into the washroom.

 _A Few Hours Later. . ._

Mr. and Mrs. Evans were sitting at the table with their children who shot each other dark looks when they thought the parents weren't looking. Mr. Evans surveyed the pair before speaking, "So Petunia, what were you up to today?" he asked, hoping to incite some sort of interaction between the two siblings.

Petunia sniffed and stuck her nose in to the air, "I was at Anna's with Caroline today. She was talking about her birthday party on August 27th, which she happened to invite me to."

Mrs Evans looked at her daughter, hoping that she'd continue, but to no avail. Sighing, she turned to Lily, "So what were you up to?"

"I spent the whole day with Severus. He was telling me about the wizard prison, Azkaban."

The two parents exchanged interested looks before turning back to their daughter. "What do you mean, 'wizard prison'?" They asked, intrigued. Petunia shot Lily a disgusted look, before going back to her salad.

"Well," Lily began, feeling glad that for once someone was actually interested in her stories, "wizards have their own laws, and they have officers that enforce those laws. Severus was telling me what happens to the people who break the laws and where they go." She paused for a moment to let that information sink in. "Apparently, the wizards have their own prisons, because the muggle ones would be too easy for them to break out of. So out on an island in the middle of the North Sea is a penitentiary, called Azkaban. Most of the people that go there on business can't even talk about what goes on in there. The only thing everyone knows about are the Dementors."

"Dementors?" Petunia said, repeating the word slowly before laughing. "This is complete codswallop. I mean, wizards don't have prisons, because-let's face it- you're all strange."

Silence fell over the table as Petunia went back to her salad. Her mother and father exchanged a look, while Lily sighed and looked back at her parents, who asked the same question as Petunia. "Dementors," said Lily, ignoring the look of jealousy on Petunia's face, "are these huge, cloaked figures that drain the happiness out of the air around them, and if you are exposed to them for long enough, like the people inside Azkaban are, you are left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life."

The Evans' shuddered at the thought, "Why would Severus be telling you about this?' asked Mrs. Evans, slightly concerned for her daughters choice in friends.

Lily laughed, "I asked him what would happen if a wizard committed a crime, and this is what he told me. Granted, he has told me about Azkaban and the Dementors before, but he just went more in-depth this time. Apparently, that's all we're going to be learning about in our fifth year; Dark Creatures."

"Wait, so there are other things out there?" Mr. Evans asked, shocked. He and his wife grew up in the age where Dracula, King Kong, Frankenstein, and other types of fictional creatures were all the rage. For them to learn that some of these things were real, left them with a slight fascination and worry for the world that their daughter was part of.

"Well, I ahvent gotten my books yet, but from what I've learned in my other classes, there are all sorts of Dark creatures. But the only ones I have heard of are Dementors, Vampires, and Hags. Mind you, none of my classes have been as intensive as the upcoming ones," she finished.

"Vampires," said Mrs. Evans, her mouth open wide.

"Werewolves," added Mr. Evans, his eyes bulging out of his skull. "And all of this actually exists?"

"Well yes" said Lily simply, "But it is nothing we ought to be worried about. Such creatures are not commonly found in England."

"How sure are you," her father teased.

"Sure enough," Lily replied smartly.

The rest of Lily's summer passed surprisingly quietly. That was, until, afternoon on August 30th that her mother walked into her room and shut the door behind her. "How are you?" she asked, in a way that clearly stated, 'I need you to do something you won't like for me.'

"What is it?' Lily replied half-heartedly, looking at her mother, knowing it must be something bad for her to have to shut the door behind her.

"I know you and Petunia have, well, drifted apart in the past few years, what with you being away at school and all," she began, perching herself on the edge of the bed, and tucking away a strand of loose hair that had escaped her bun.

Lily shot up, "Drifted apart?" she said, outraged. "No, more like shoved away because of her thick head, and attitude," Lily replied, but noticing the look on her mother's face, she relaxed.

"I wanted to ask you if you would go with her to Anna's birthday party, just to keep an eye on her for me? I mean, she's seventeen now, and I don't want her getting herself into any trouble now."

Lily sighed before looking back at her mother, who looked at her pleadingly. Breaking down inside, and knowing that she'd probably mess something up for her sister, she nodded, "I'll go. But you'd better tell her that I'm coming, because she won't let me go if I tell her myself."

Her mother nodded curtly, before leaving her room and walking across the landing. A few moments later, Lily heard a shriek and a bang, and a second later her mother walked back into her room. "Have fun on Friday."

It was when Friday came that Lily was most concerned. She'd never been out anywhere, to any social event since she'd started at Hogwarts. Luckily enough, Anna's house was two blocks away and Petunia, who was leading Lily from five feet ahead, was not speaking to her younger sibling. She didn't even bother to introduce Lily to anyone once they arrived to the party, which wasn't a problem to the redhead. She simply stood alone in a corner of the room by the drinks and waited until someone spoke to her. While she was used to begin at events at Hogwarts, whenever the Gryffindors won a Quidditch match, or it was a birthday party, she never felt as though she were left out. Everyone in Hogwarts knew what it was like to feel as though they did not belong (expect Potter, who had his abnormally large heard and ego to absorb other people in).

She was startled out of her reverie by the sound of someone saying her name. "Huh" she said, thickly, looking out into the crowd. A sharp tap on her shoulder brought her face to face with a blonde girl.

"You're Lily, Petunia's sister, right?" she asked interestedly. The girl was wearing a short dress with a pair of heels, which looked dangerously high. She could tell the girl was uncomfortable with her choice of clothing as she constantly pulled the neck of her dress u, and the hem down, while simultaneously attempting to keep her balance on a pair of sky scrapers. "I love your hair, is that your natural colour?"

Lily nodded, while trying to find her sister, "have you seen Petunia?" she asked the blond who poured herself more punch (which at this point, Lily thought must definitely have been laced with alcohol).

"Uh, yeah, go into the next room, you'll see her on the sofa," the blond replied, making her way back through the crowd to her friends.

Lily sighed, before edging past a few older kids, who were dancing rather provocatively for Lily's taste. She slipped into the other room and saw her sister on the sofa next to a brunette and another raven-haired girl. She edged closer and attempted to catch her sister's eye, which turned out to be futile. She was too deep in a conversation with the other girls, and as Lily steppe closer, she realized it was more of a one sided rant.

"I mean she's a horrible person," Petunia said, waving her arms energetically in the air, while tossing her head back. "Just because she gets selected to go to this prestigious school (the story the Evans' had been telling the neighbours whenever inquired about Lily's whereabouts) and she's learning a whole bunch of useless crap, doesn't mean she's better than me. If anything, I think she's a freak. I mean, they just teach her the most useless stuff. But nevertheless, she walks around thinking she's a hell of a lot better than me. And my parents treat her like she's the greatest child ever. They practically worship the ground she walks on. And I get left behind. I mean, if I think about it, the family would be better off without her."

Lily was rooted to the spot until she heard Petunia's final sentence, and that was when she could hear her blood rushing in her ears. She walked straight up to Petunia, the glasses of party-goes being shattered in their hands as she walked by them. Petunia looked up and saw Lily standing in front of her.

"Out of all the sick, disgusting, and cruel things you've said about me, this has got to be one of the worst ever. You are a horrible sister, and hope no one in the world is ever given a sibling such as yourself!" and with that she stormed through the rooms, and out of the door, running back to her house. She found herself in front of the door, and unlocked it, not looking back. Her parents were sitting in the front room, and were shocked to see their youngest daughter in tears.

Her mother stood up immediately, "what happened Lily!" she asked concerned.

"Ask your older daughter," she replied sourly, before shooting up the stairs and into her room. Where she promptly threw herself upon her bed, crying into the pillows.

She woke up a few hours later, into what must have been the early morning. She lifted herself off the bed, and began to change into her nightgown, which she hadn't done while crying the previous night. Upon changing, she walked over to her desk and pulled out a piece of parchment, writing out a letter to Demi.

 _Dear D,_

 _I hope you're well, and that Bighead Potter isn't giving you too hard a time, if you're already back at the Potters. I can't wait until you and I can discuss everything we did in the summer with Alice, Kiaria, and Frank._

 _I just had the worst night ever with Petunia. My mother forced me to go with her to some muggle girl's party, and she was badmouthing me to everyone. So I may have lost control and shattered some glasses, is that normal for a witch? Honestly, I am so tired of being seen as an outcast by her, she is officially the worst sibling ever, unless Pighead Potter is in the race, in which case it may be a tie._

 _Did Kiaria tell you about that Muggle girl she's been dating? It's amazing, considering what happened last year, I thought she's just have a bad outlook on dating in general. How are you and Jeremiah? Amos and I decided to call it quits mid-way through July, which wasn't much of a surprise. I mean, he spent half of our relationship hiding from Potter. Frank and Alice seem to be fine though, I honestly don't know how they do it? It's amazing. Over a year and they've never had a fight! They must be really patient people._

 _Looking forward to hearing from you soon._

 _Love from Lily Evans._

She folded up the letter waiting for her owl, Artemis (which she'd gotten a week ago from her trip to Diagon Alley), who was out hunting and lay back in bed where she fell back asleep a moment later.

James was dying for Demi to come back. She's said the last week, and yet there were only five days left until they had to head back to Hogwarts. In the back of his mind he feared that something may have happened to her, yet he immediately drew his thoughts away from such horrors, as he remembered Dumbledore was with her. That was the only thing that calmed him down. That, and the fact that Sirius had shown up on the Potter's doorstep only two days ago, looking nauseous after a ride on the Knight Bus.

The pair had spent the majority of his stay playing Quidditch, and trying to cram in as much of their summer homework before heading off to school. The pair hadn't picked up their new books though, as Demi was expected to arrive any day now. James was looking forward to seeing her again, and having Sirius around was a sore reminder of how much he missed his sibling.

It was the morning of August 28th, the pair were out in the yard playing a few rounds of Keep-the-Quaffle-Up, when they heard the doorbell ring. The pair exchanged an excited look before quickly landing on the ground and running through the house to the front door. James was so excited he frog jumped over Tingle the House-Elf and swung the door open.

Demi was standing in front of him, smiling brightly, the ways he used to before she was attacked by Nott and Malfoy. Her hair was back to being luscious, thick and shiny, albeit frizzier than before and hung to her lower back in big waves. Her skin was still pale, but looked fuller, and had acquired some colour, while also ridding her skin of all acne and scars. Her eyes were slightly bigger, but her irises were still black. However, it wasn't just her face that had changed. She'd grown taller, and had gained more muscle, rather than looking sickly and frail as she did the last time he'd seen her. The muscle definition was especially visible as she wore an oversized black muscle tank, with white jeans, and black converse. Overall, she looked a lot healthier than she did before, and for that James was glad. Prior to, it looked like one good gust of wind would knock the life out of her, literally.

"Did anybody miss me?" she asked, walking into the room, her trunk by her side, and a bag slung over her shoulder. She dropped the two items as gave James a huge hug, which he returned.

"You have no idea how much I missed you," he said, letting go of her. "You've been hitting the gym," he added.

She flexed, showing off her muscles, "Yeah well, when you're on the road, there's only so much that will keep you occupied. You have to bulk up. It keeps the muggers away."

Before James could say anything else, Sirius managed to stammer out a few words, "you look amazing." He said, looking at Demi as though the pair had never met.

James turned to his best friend and whacked him over the head with his hand, "mate, stop ogling my sister," he said, swinging and arm around her. "So how was your trip? What did you do? Where's Dumbledore? How did you get here?" he began to pelt her with questions.

She laughed before giving Tingle a little hug, "I'll take care of the bags," she said, picking up the shoulder bag and throwing it on, before picking up the trunk as though it were as heavy as a piece of paper. She walked down the hallway and to the staircase, where she began to climb up the steps, Sirius and James behind her. "Where're the parents, James?" she asked, as they got to the landing, and entered her room.

"They're asleep right now. They had a late night, didn't get home from work till around 2 in the morning," he replied dully, as he helped her unpack her stuff.

"Oh," she replied, looking at James, who'd dark circles under his eyes. He'd undoubtedly been waiting until his parents had come home to go to sleep. "When did you get here, Sirius?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.

He went around the bed, before sitting down on her desk, "a few days ago. Was beginning to wonder when you'd show up."

"Yeah, I got held up a little bit on the return journey," she said, as she began to open a few of the letters that had been left on her bed by the Potters.

James' head immediately jerked upwards as he turned to face her, "I've been meaning to ask, what you were doing with Dumbledore? Mum and Dad wouldn't say, but I began to get the feeling that they didn't know either."

She stretched before laying down on her bed, facing the ceiling, "I was doing some work for an organization Dumbledore's been trying to assemble to help fight Voldemort," here James and Sirius did not flinch. After four years, they'd gotten used to her saying the name, and had tried to say it themselves in private to practice. "It's called the Order of the Phoenix."

"Anyone we know involved?" James asked, interested in the new information. Sirius also lent in, hoping to get in on some of the action against the Death Eaters.

"Uh, the Prewitts, Weasleys, Hagrid, and some of the Hogwarts professors, and a few aurors," she said. "I'm sure there are more, but they're all I know of."

The pair nodded, "and what did you do after that?' they asked.

She looked back at them before realizing that they too knew it wouldn't have taken two months to gather a group of twenty odd people. Naturally, she wanted to refrain from giving them anymore information on her whereabouts, but sighed before continuing. "I was in London for a bit," she said, letting them in on her findings, "to figure out some stuff about my past. Like, my parents, and such."

The two came and sat down next to her, unsure of where this conversation may lead, in terms of emotions. "And?" James asked, while Sirius gave her a reassuring smile.

Demi looked down as she spoke, "couldn't find any names, but it turns out that my muggle father had a one night stand with a muggle woman. A few months later she found out she was pregnant with me. When she tried to get him on board, he left her and apparently died a few years later. She was spending so much money on drugs, she couldn't support a baby. So after she had me, she left me at an orphanage." Here she took a break, and saw James' face, his mouth open in shock, while Sirius' lips were tight, and his face slightly pale.

"Is-is she still . . .?" Sirius asked, looking up at her.

"My mum died a few years ago, drug overdose," she said simply, before standing up and continuing to open her letters. She looked back to the bed, where the two boys were still trying to understand. She sight before continuing, "I never met them, and I can't remember anything, so it's not as bad as it seems." James raised his eyebrows, while Sirius whistled, "And when you think about it, them leaving me was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. I wouldn't have met Dumbledore, or you guys."

The pair exchanged a look before turning back to her, "you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," she said smiling, and for once, it was true. The next few moments passed in silence, until a small little owl flew into Demi's room, dropping a letter in the girl's trunk. Demi walked over to the bed, where James had picked up the letter.

"It's from Evans!" he cried, about to tear it open.

Demi sighed, "James, if she wanted to send you a letter, it would have your name on it," she replied, indicating her name on the envelope. James frowned before handing the letter to her, in defeat. She slit it open and read through it quickly. "Poor Lils," she said, as she pulled out some parchment and ink for a reply.

"What's wrong? Is she okay?" James said, jumping up with concern. Sirius looked past his best friend, to Demi, with a look that read _can you believe this guy?_

James walked over to the desk and made to pick up the letter, before Demi quickly picked it up. Some of it's private, but apparently Lily was forced to go to this party with Petunia, and she overheard Petunia badmouthing her to everyone. Clearly Lily is pissed off," Demi said, as she began to write her response.

"Who's Petunia?" Sirius asked interestedly.

James whirled around, "she's Lily's older sister," he said, looking proud of himself for knowing that.

"Ah," said Sirius. "But why is she badmouthing Evans?"

Demi continued writing, answering Sirius, "she's been jealous of Lily ever since she was accepted into Hogwarts. Now she makes fun of Lily every time she comes home for the holidays. Before this, they were really close. Now Severus is the only friend she has there."

"Snivellus," muttered James, running a hand through his already messy hair. "Never understood what Lily sees in him. I mean, she's amazing but he's the oddball, up to his eyes with his death eater friends."

Demi sealed the letter, and gave it to the owl, who soared out of the window immediately. "Severus has known Lily since they were nine. He's the one who told her that she was a witch. Ever since then, Petunia hated Lily, and Lily always found herself hanging out with Severus. He was her first friend, told her all about the wizarding world. That's why they're so close. He knew all about her fights with Petunia and everything. I mean, after all that, it makes sense as to why they're best friends."

Deep down James knew that was all true, but he couldn't help but to hate the little slimey haired git. He had a relationship with Lily, while James was practically an annoying blast-ended skrewt in Lily's eyes. It was this relationship that fueled James' hatred of the Slytherin.

"I'm going to have a quick shower," Demi said, gathering a pair of clothes and a towel.

"We'll be downstairs, making some food. Want anything?" James said, heading to her door.

"Whatever your having," she replied, looking in the suitcase for her hairbrush. James left, bounding down the stairs to the kitchen. Sirius was still sitting on her bed.

"How's the boyfriend?" he asked, as she groped around for the brush.

Demi's mouth dropped open in shock as she turned to face Sirius, "you want to know about Jeremiah?"

He gave a half shrug before getting up and stretching, the shit rippling over his muscles. "I want to know whether I'm allowed to hit on you now, without you getting angry," he said smugly, before giving her one of his usual bear hugs. "I missed you," he said as he let go and walked to the door.

"Me too," she replied, "and Jeremiah and I are still going out."

Sirius mimed vomiting, and headed downstairs.

Demi checked the time, "9:34. I've only seen him for an hour, and he's already hitting on me," she sighed before finally finding her hairbrush and heading to the washroom for a relaxing cold shower.

The trio went down to Diagon Alley later on that day, Demi hoping that she's see Jeremiah there. She'd owled him earlier that day, telling him she'd be there. They were just leaving the Apothecary, and wandering down to Flourish and Blotts. They found themselves being swallowed by the crowd, as many students who'd been on vacation were also shopping last minute. As they walked, she say many teenage witches glaring at her, wondering what was wrong, she looked down at her clothing, _everything's tucked in place_ , she thought. But then she looked at the guys on either side of her.

She was beginning to see why so many of the girls in Hogwarts liked James. Although he wasn't extremely tall, he was fit, and had a certain air of confidence about him, which tended to rub off on anyone near him. His hair, which used to hand into his eyes, was trimmed such that you could see the hazel eyes and circular spectacles perfectly. He had a long, thin face, and a small nose, but the upturned smile on his face made it look like he was always planning something mischievous, which was partly true. He was good-looking, but in a cute, adorkable way and it made sense why he was the second-best looking guy in their year.

Sirius however, left James in the dust, way in the dust. His long wavy hair hung perfectly around his face ending at his shoulders. His skin, although pale like hers, had a lot more colour to it. His grey eyes had become more and more mysterious, making him seem almost unreadable, which was true to those who did not know him well. Sirius was incredibly tall as well, topping at around 6'2 when he was standing straight. It wasn't just the height, but the fact that he had clearly been working out, spending all those days being locked in his room doing copious amounts of pushups and situps. His muscles were clearly visible through his grey and black Gryffindor shirt. It wasn't until she'd actually looked at the pair that she noticed why some people thought they could be siblings. They both had the same athletic look, mischievous smile, and glint in their eye. Not to mention that they were practically inseparable. He noticed the looks he was getting from some of the girls, and did the move that made girls swoon, also known as running your hand through your hair.

A few girls began to fan their faces, and Demi tried to hide a laugh.

Sirius looked down at her, "what?" he asked.

She straightened up and pretended to be very interested in the cloak of the lady in front of her, "nothing" she said, as they turned into the bookstore. Just as they entered, she heard someone calling her name. Looking around through the crowd, she spotted a tall, tanned 6th year waving at her. "Jeremiah," she squealed making her way towards him, as Sirius and James exchanged dark looks before following her. She threw her arms around his neck, and placed a delicate kiss on his lips. "I didn't think you'd get my letter so fast," she said as they moved over to let other people in the store.

He smiled, playing with a strand of her hair, "I got it about half an hour ago and apparated as quickly as I could."

Demi's eyes widened, "you got your license already?" she said.

He rubbed the back of his neck, "no, but I know how to do it now, so I thought I might as well."

She shook her head and laughed, "Well as long as you haven't splinched yourself, you should be fine."

He looked her up and down before saying what many had said before. "You look a hell of a lot different than you did last year."

"It took some time to get me back to how I was prior to the whole 'almost dying' thing," she said as they walked around the store, picking up her books for fifth year. "So, have any OWL tips for me?"

He laughed as he picked up her book for Ancient Runes, "don't stop studying," he replied as they made their way to the counter to pay for their things.

James and Sirius hung back, gathering their supplies slowly, "What do you think he sees in her?" James asked, flipping through a book called _Death Omens_ absentmindedly. "Demi, I mean?"

Sirius buried his face in another book, before replying, "I dunno. She's smart, funny, pretty . . ." he trailed off, trying to think of something Demi was not.

"Pretty?" James said, seriously, putting the book down as they headed to the till.

"I dunno, she's got nice hair," he said, pulling out some galleons to pay.

"Are you saying he's dating my sister because of her hair?" James said inquisitively, as they left the store and went into Madam Malkin's for their robes.

"I'm just saying it could be a contributing factor," Sirius stammered, choosing his words wisely, hoping not to anger James, who could get riled up very easily these days.

There was a pause before James muttered, "Lily's got nice hair."

Sirius gave his best friend a sideways glance, which he returned. They were both equally confused, "I suppose," Sirius said, "very nice."

It wasn't until three hours later, when the trio had met back up with the Potters in the Leaky Cauldron that they flooed back to the Potter's Mansion.

"So, we saw a young man with you today," said Mrs. Potter wiggling her eyebrows while helping Demi pack her things for school. The guys were all downstairs, having an intense discussion about the expectations for this year. While the Potters knew that they couldn't tell Sirius what to do, they couldn't help but feel overprotective of the boy, the more he visited. They understood from what Demi and James had told them about Sirius' family, that there was no one really looking out for him. So they decided to take it upon themselves to treat the boy as their own son, whenever he came round. It had gotten to the point that Sirius had begun to call Mr. and Mrs. Potter, Mum and Dad.

Currently their Dad was downstairs lecturing the two boys on their behaviour for the next year, emphasizing that they will not stand for any more detentions, and do not want to hear about the pair bothering a certain 'Snape boy.'

"Come on mum, really?" Demi said, as she folded up her new robes and put them in her suitcase.

"What?" said Mrs. Potter, looking at Demi, "I just want to know that you're being safe."

Demi went red surprisingly quickly, "MUM!" she whined, "I already had this conversation with you. I'm fine, don't worry about me, really. I think I'm old enough to deal with such things myself."

Mrs. Potter laughed before taking a seat on the bed, next to Demi's trunk. "I didn't mean to say that you weren't. It's just that we worry about you, your father, myself, and James especially. He's never had a sibling, and he feels very overprotective of you."

Demi scoffed, "that's never crossed my mind," she said sarcastically, as she tossed some shrunken shoes in the trunk.

Mrs. Potter shook her head, "he asked your father and I multiple times when you were returning. And he was especially concerned when the beginning of the week had come around and you still weren't here."

Just as she finished her sentence, Demi heard Sirius' voice calling her from downstairs, "Love, we're going for a last round of Quidditch, are you two in?" he said.

The two women exchanged a look before saying "we'll be down in ten." They began tossing things in pell-mell. "Someone else was also concerned," Mrs. Potter said, wiggling her eyebrows a little.

"Who? Sirius?" Demi asked wearily, to which Mrs. Potter nodded, "Eh, he's always concerned about something or other. I'm surprised any of us can go to the washroom without being disturbed by him."

"He's got a nice nickname for you, 'love' isn't it?" she asked inquisitively.

Demi tossed the final few things into her trunk, and shut the lit, locking it up, "That would be correct."

Mrs. Potter got up and they walked to her door, "And yet the two of you are friends, huh?"

Demi turned to face Mrs. Potter, "Oh, not you too!" she sighed, as Mrs. Potter suppressed a smile.

"It's not just me," she said, closing the door behind her, "It's Mr. Potter as well."

Demi shook her head as they went downstairs and into the backyard, where the guys were already on their brooms, hovering a few feet off the ground, the equipment in their boxes. "What are the teams?" Mrs. Potter asked, summoning hers and Demi's brooms from the shed. The pair picked up the battered Quaffle, and said, "Chasers only?"

The men nodded, and within minutes they were off.

A sloth grip roll, two minor collisions, and 50 points later, the girls had won the game. It was a hard-earned win, as the boys had put up a really good fight. However, they all learned two extremely important lessons that day; 1) Mr. Potter was getting slightly old, and 2) Sirius was a horrible chaser.

The family half-dragged, half-crawled back into the house where Tingle was already placing the cutlery and food out on the table. Ever since Demi had become part of the household, she'd taught James to treat all magical creatures with respect, "' _If you want to know what a person is truly like, take a good look at how they treat their inferiors, not their equals,'_ " she would often say, as Tingle joined them at the table. It was something that Dumbledore had often said, and was a quote that his parents used frequently as James was growing up. It was only now that he'd just begun to see what the meaning was.

They ate in tired silence, and chewed slowly on their meal. One by one they each drifted off to take a shower, and lay down on the sofas in the other room, completely worn by the game. While the three teens usually had enough energy for the after-party from a Hogwarts Quidditch match, they too fell unusually quiet, knowing their days of relaxation were coming to an end.

An hour or so later, when Tingle had retired, the two parents began what would only be known as 'the Discussion.'

"You three are in your fifth year now," said Mrs. Potter as she and her husband sipped their tea, relaxingly. "You need to start considering your options when out of school."

The three teens exchanged knowing looks, "We already know what we want to do," James said.

"And what might that be, young man?" his father asked, smiling.

"Well, we weren't quite sure at first," started Demi.

"But then we realized how much good would come of it," Sirius said.

"And now we know exactly how we need to plan our classes," James added.

"So that we can all become . . ." Demi said leading off.

"AURORS!" the three cried in unison.

The two adults looked quite shocked, "Do you have any idea how difficult of a job this is?" Mrs. Potter said. "I mean James' spent a majority of his life worrying himself about whether his parents were going to make it home alright, and you want to make this your job when you're older?"

"It's a lot harder than you think," Mr. Potter said, looking at the teens sternly, "I's not just about chasing bad guys, but there's a ton of paperwork, and you rarely get to see your family. And between raids and the general uncertainty of the present, it's a miracle every time you get to them alive."

"But it's what we've decided, and we all chosen to accept those risks," the three replied in what could only be a rehearsed manner.

"If this is what you choose than I can't force you to step away from your dreams," said Mrs. Potter, as she looked fondly at the three.

"But remember that your OWL results are one of the things that the ministry takes into account when it comes to becoming an Auror. You have to get a minimum of five NEWTS and nothing under exceeds expectations grade, and then you have a whole bunch of tests to go through at the Auror Office."

"It's a difficult career path, and they only choose the best. I remember that Potions, Defence, Transfiguration, Herbology and Charms, were recommended," Mrs. Potter finished. "You'd best be ready to put in some serious effort, rather than messing around _all_ of the time."

The three teens put their heads together, discussing something in hushed tones, "How about we make a deal?" said James as the other two nodded.

"We'll do our best in school, even better than we're doing now-," Demi began.

"If that's possible," interrupted Sirius.

"-and you promise not to lecture us for any bad behaviour we may exhibit. Deal?" said James.

The two adults began whispering, and before long, they had agreed. "Well, you'd best be off to bed. We have to drop you off tomorrow."

"And make sure you have all your stuff packed," Mr. Potter said, eyeing James, who probably hadn't even began to pack yet.

The two parents headed off into their room, calling it a night, and before long, the other three were sitting in James' room, where he and Sirius were gathering up their things, with help from Demi who was sitting between the two trunks placed upon James' bed. While Sirius was sleeping in the other guest bedroom, a majority of his stuff had ended up in James' room and vice versa. The only problem was trying to figure out what belonged to who.

"You really need to start writing your name on things," Demi said as she tossed a folded up sweater in James' trunk.

The two guys laughed, "And you're telling me that the other girls do that?" Sirius asked, tossing his beater's gloves into his trunk.

"Yeah, but I mean, we all wear each other's clothes anyway, so it doesn't really matter. Which reminds me that Kiaria has three of my jeans, Lily has two of my tops, and Alice has my skirt."

"You'd better get that skirt back. What I wouldn't kill for to get a glimpse of those legs," Sirius said jokingly, ducking as James lobbed a spare shoe at his head.

"Mate, I'm right here!" James said, outraged at Sirius' lewd remarks concerning his sister. He continued to fold up his clothing, and sort through his drawers, but in an agitated manner. At around midnight, they were done and quickly locked up their trunks, placing them by the door of the room, James headed downstairs for some water, and Sirius was left with Demi, who promptly stood up and headed to her room.

Sirius trailed behind, "I meant it you know," referring to his comment before.

Demi sighed before looking slightly amused and annoyed. "Sirius, you'll hit on anything that moves." Sirius made a noise, as though her were going to interrupt, but Demi placed a hand over his mouth and continued. "Goodnight Sirius." With that, she headed to her room and made to shut the door, but before doing so, she looked out to where Sirius was still standing, mulling over her words, looking slightly confused. "Goodnight, Sirius" she repeated, smiling to show that she was not angry in the slightest by his remarks and actions.

"Night, love," he said, heading into his room. He changed swiftly and ducked into the covers of the bed, his mind reeling. Although he'd always liked her, when she showed up that day looking _so goddamn hot_ he'd realized just how deep his feelings ran. His mind wandered back to that day on the astronomy tower back in their third year. With that, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	2. Feasts and Fireworks

**I'm going to start adding some new characters in, from the actual series like Dorcas Meadowes and Benjy Fenwick. Oh, and some of these characters, like Marlene McKinnon are going to be added to the cast of Gryffindor girls now. I knew she was a character from before, it's just that I thought it would be slightly more realistic now to have her join as a new fifth year. The reason being that many parents were reluctant to send their kids away to school, and Marlene's were homeschooling her. Because her parents have desk jobs, filing paperwork for the ministry, and are working overtime, they decide to send her to Hogwarts, where she can continue her education in a social environment, while also putting her under the care of Albus Dumbledore. Because Hogwarts is truly the safest place on Earth. Oh, and just for further reference, because she will make an appearance, Mary McDonald is a sixth year in Gryffindor house.**

The residents of the Potter mansion had spent the majority of their morning scrambling around the house, trying to remember everything they needed before heading to King's Cross. Demi was helping Mr. Potter gather the broomsticks and other Quidditch supplies and pile them by the doors along with the trunks and the owls. Sirius was still trying to figure out where his spare pair of socks were, and was wandering about the house, barefoot. He was reprimanded by Mrs. Potter after using some colourful language while nursing a stubbed toe. "Save it for Hogwarts," she said, as she gathered up her and her husband's paperwork for the office. James was upstairs trying to coax his energetic owl into its cage. "Come on you fluffy bastard, get in the cage!" his voice yelled, as they heard him thundering around the upper floor, chasing the little rebel.

Twenty minutes later at 10:45, they were heading into the station, trollies loaded with their possessions. Mr. and Mrs. Potter had dropped them off and found the trollies before disapparating, already a few hours late for work.

The trio made a beeline straight for the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. They took turns leaning back on it, trying to look as nonchalant as possible, which proved to be difficult when they were carrying hooting owls and broomsticks. Immediately, they felt the ground slip beneath their feet and they emerged on the familiar platform, where students and parents were swarming around the train. They quickly unloaded their belongings and rushed into the train, hoping that there were some empty compartments left. They passed the Slytherins, who looked ready to murder anyone they saw. A few friendly Ravenclaws, like Xenophilius, Caradoc Dearborn, Benjy Fenwick (a sixth year), and two seventh years named Amelia Bones and Kingsley Shacklebolt. They spoke with Demi in hushed tones, before bidding the other two boys a good day. Having been elected as Head Boy and Girl, they were given certain responsibilities to look after the first-years, who were dwindling in numbers due to the war. A few seventh year Hufflepuffs such as Dedalus Diggle (who everyone knew was quite thick) and Dorcas Meadowes did the same. James and Sirius were beginning to get exasperated by all the whispers, and were about to go mad, when a door behind them slid open, and the three were pulled inside.

They came face to face with Peter, Alice, Frank, and Kiaria, who were sitting amongst themselves chatting animatedly. "Hey, Pete" said Sirius before settling opposite him. Demi and James quickly tossed their belongings in to the overhead compartments before settling down as well. They did a quick scan of the compartment before realizing two of their number were missing.

"Where are Lily and Remus?" Demi asked, looking at the others, "I didn't see them on the platform."

Peter sighed before giving them the news, "Remus is down."

Everyone in the compartment quietened down at Peter's words, looking scared and worried. "What do you mean Pete?" James asked, agitatedly.

"Remus is-is, uh, he's- um, well . . ." Peter stammered, looking at James and Sirius, who were positively angry and worried. Peter lifted a small, chubby, shaking hand and pointed to the compartment door, "he's there."

The others whipped their heads around, Frank cricking his in the process. There, standing in the middle of the doorway, was a perfectly healthy (by werewolf standards), fully clothed in robes, smiling on his face Remus Lupin. His sandy brown hair was trimmed slightly, and he seemed to have acquired a few new scars. "How've you all been?" he asked, looking at James and Sirius.

"Good," the pair replied, "We were wondering where you were," Sirius said, skootching down the seat until he was pressed up against the window, "Sit down."

Remus sighed before rubbing the back of his neck anxiously, "I would, but . . ." he drifted off wearily, looking at James, Demi and Sirius as though he was speaking to them on their deathbeds.

"But what?" James asked sharply, his nostrils flaring.

Just then, they were disturbed by a petite redhead with pretty almond-shaped green eyes, who looked as though she was having the best day, "Hi guys, how are you?" she said, and before even waiting for a reply, she turned to Remus, "We've got to go."

This was the final straw for James, who yelled angrily, "What the bloody hell is going on?" Remus shut his eyes, and took a deep breath, while Lily turned and eyed James angrily, which immediately calmed him down. He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even further, "Hello Evans," he said in what was supposed to be a mature voice, "and how are you on this fine day?"

The others hid their laughter with their hands, and shirts, as Lily gave James a disgusted and angry look, "Up yours, Potter," she said, before giving Remus a glare and leaving.

"What's wrong with her?" said James, "and why is she bossing you around?"

Remus sighed before pulling out a round object from his robes. He tossed it to James, who caught it easily and looked into his palm. He yelped before throwing the badge to Demi, whose eyes widened in shock before passing it to Sirius, who laughed as though it were a joke before tossing it back to Remus, who pinned the badge on his shirt. It was a simple round button, with a gold lion on a deep red background. It was the large golden 'P' emblazoned in front of the lion that shocked everyone. "They, uh, made me a Prefect," Remus said simply.

"This is a joke, right?" said Sirius, who was still smiling at the thought of Remus being a prefect. "I mean, they know what your like, what we're like" he said, gesturing to himself, James, and Demi. "This has got to be a mistake."

While Remus, in the eyes of the other Gryffindors, hadn't done anything that seemed rude and detention-worthy, it was the fact that he was often associated with the larger, full-scale pranks that the other two boys had pulled. The Marauders had their own cabinet in Filch's office, filled to the brim with forms on how they'd planted dungbombs, lit firecrackers, blown up cauldrons, etc and a majority of these pranks had been engineered by Remus.

"He's fallen," Peter repeated, looking at the 'P' with fear, as Remus looked down.

"You're actually one of them?" Sirius asked, looking positively-well-serious.

Remus nodded. Alice muttered, "oh dear god," Kiaria was shaking her head, flabbergasted, Demi, James, Peter, and Sirius all looked at Remus as though he were dying. They heard a mumble before Frank collapsed to the ground, fainting. Remus gave him a sidelong glance before saying, "I've got to go."

James, with his lips pressed in such a thin line he would've given McGonagall a run for her money, nodded as Remus shut the compartment door. He fell back into his seat with a flump, and looked hard at the ground. "They've done it. He's been . . . . _converted_."

Kiaria gave him a bemused look, as she and Alice attempted to lift Frank into his seat again. "Don't you think you're all being a little bit over dramatic?" she asked.

The other two boys and Demi turned, all giving her a withering look. "This is how they do it. They get one of us and try to make them conform to the rules by placing them in positions of power. Then they can exercise control over their friends, who the Man knows will listen to him," Sirius whispered.

The others all turned to face him, "now we're being overdramatic," said James, leaning back into his seat.

"Blood drama queen," Demi said, shaking her head at Sirius. "But think about how handy this'll be? Having a prefect on our side?" Demi added thoughtfully. "He's allowed to give and take points, so he's bound to give us some extras for doing some simple tasks."

James, Sirius, and Peter seemed to perk up with this new information, and soon they were planning all the different ways that Remus could abuse his position in their favour. They were just about to begin another round of Exploding Snap before the door slid open again.

"Exploding Snap cards are non-regulation," a voice said. They looked up and saw Remus standing in the doorway, with Lily behind him, smiling before walking away to find Severus. "I'll have to confiscate those," he added, taking the cards from Alice's limp grip. The others looked up at him, much like a three-year-old would look at an adult who was explaining why they couldn't have ice-cream for dinner. Just then Remus cracked a smile, and joined them. "They can make me a prefect, but that doesn't mean that I want to be one," he said, as he shuffled the deck and dealt the cards. James and Sirius exchanged looks of great relief, while Demi scolded him, "Don't do that again! You know I have a bad heart!"

James and Sirius spent part of the journey in a separate compartment with Peter, Demi, and Remus, telling them about a new 'start-of-term' prank they'd cooked up. The two brains cracked matching smiles before beginning to outline the plan. Peter listened intently, hoping that for once, he wouldn't mess up his part.

Remus checked his watch a little while later, "we should be there in ten minutes," he announced to the others, who were putting the final details on the plan.

"I'm going to go and get changed," Sirius said getting up.

"Are you a wizard or not?" Demi asked, whipping out her wand and muttering a spell under her breath. A second later, they were all wearing their robes (except Remus who was already dressed). James' invisibility cloak was stored away in his robe pocket, as they continued to recite the plan. It was simple enough, but involved some spellwork, that would affect the overall outcome of the prank.

"Do you have the stuff?" Sirius asked Peter, who nodded, and replied with "I've got a whole stash."

The four other exchanged a mischievous look, "Excellent," they said in unison. "But there's only one problem," James pointed out, "we can't let the teachers know that you were in on this, otherwise they'll take away the badge, and then we'll be right back at not having an inside man."

Remus snorted with laughter, "So you only want to save my ass, to protect yours?" he asked, and James nodded feverently. Remus considered this for a moment before saying, "and oddly enough, I'm oaky with that."

They continued talking until the train came to a complete stop in the Hogsmeade station. Peter peered outside, and saw nothing but silvery sheets of rain pounding the paths of Hogsmeade, "We're going to get soaked," he said, indicating outside.

"Yeah, but think about the first years, they've got to go in the boats," Demi replied, looking slightly worried.

"Wait, even in this bad weather?" Sirius asked, looking out past Peter, "that can't be allowed."

"It's tradition," she shrugged before sliding open the compartment door, "let's go before all the carriages are gone." They made their way out into the little aisle and headed for the door, which was already open and allowing copious amounts of rain to fall inside. They quickly pulled on their hoods and bounded out holding the owl cages as they ran directly into a covered carriage. Here they took a deep breath as they were pulled up the drive, smirking in light of their new plan. When they exited the carriage and entered the school they were greeted by Peeves, who thought it would be most amusing of he were to throw ink bombs and water balloons on the tops of people's heads. The Marauders and Demi managed to sneak by, and watched as Peeves lobbed an ink bottle directly at Lucius Malfoy's head, which coated his slivery blonde hair in black ink.

"Looks like the giant squid did a piss on his head," Sirius muttered in Demi's ear, causing her to laugh. They made their way into the Great Hall, and quickly sat down not too far from the other fifth years.

James had an unpleasant look upon his face as he saw Lily waving to Severus across the hall. "Slimy little weasel," he muttered stabbing at his empty plate with his fork. The others exchanged concerned looks, as James muttered to himself.

His mind was completely occupied less than a minute later as the first years came in, completely drenched. Hagrid led them to the front, and gave them all a wry smile before heading to his seat on the dais. There were a few older kids mixed in with the small group of first years, kids who'd probably been homeschooled but were sent to Hogwarts due to safety concerns. Among these kids were Marlene McKinnon and Sturgis Podmore, who were in their fifth year. They watched as the students were sorted, and while Podmore went to Ravenclaw, the Gryffindors were given Marlene who knew only James and made beeline for him.

Marlene was a blonde with startling blue eyes. She made her way to the table and perched herself on the bench, across from James and the others. "Hello James," she said quietly.

James gave her a smile, "you're going to love it here Marlene. It'll take some getting used to but believe me, it's a lot of fun." James turned to the others and said, "Marlene you know who Demi is right?" he asked, to which she nodded, "and this is Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black."

Her eyes narrowed at Sirius' last name, "A Black in Gryffindor? Never thought I'd live to see the day," she said jokingly, shaking their hands.

Sirius ran a hand through his hair before replying, "Didn't think my parents would live _past_ the day, if you ask me" as he rested his head on Demi's shoulder and yawned loudly. "Forgive me, but it has been a long day."

Marlene smiled as Dumbledore stood up to give his welcome back speech. "'Welcome' to those to who are just joining us, and to our returning students I say, 'welcome back.' Now I have a few short announcements to make before we are blessed with an excellent feast," he was cut off by the sound of a rumbling stomach, coming from a small, first year at the Hufflepuff table, who quickly said sorry, causing everyone to laugh. "As I was saying, the Hogsmeade visits will now all be monitored. No student above the age of thirteen is allowed to roam the village whenever they please. As you may have noticed, the Ministry had provided more security to the castle, and I assure you that no one here is under any threat, nor is there any imminent attack." He took a moment to let his words sink is as the students began to chatter, "Furthermore, I have received yet another list from our caretaker, Mr. Argus Filch, who has asked me to remind you that any item on the 'Prohibited List' is, in fact, prohibited. Prefects are allowed to confiscate these items upon sight. With that being said, let the feast begin!" he opened up his arms and the tables were immediately laden with food.

Marlene looked around in shock as the others dug in, piling roast chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and all onto their plates. "Oh go on, Marlene. It tastes great," Demi said, as she helped herself to some pumpkin juice.

Marlene took a moment before cutting herself some of the roast chicken, she nibbled the edge of it, and felt a warm sensation run through her entire body, she quickly began to eat more until she found herself growing quite sleepy. Clearly the food was having the same effect on the others, as dessert passed them by. Marlene was itching to see the Gryffindor common room, and more importantly; her bed. She was beginning to feel at home, when she saw something strange happening in front of her. James and his friends were murmuring something under their breath, all with their eyes closed, and in sync. She looked around to see whether it was a tradition before she felt a tap on her left shoulder. A redheaded girl had come and sat down next to her.

Marlene could tell she was a prefect from the badge pinned to her chest, "Hi, I'm Lily Potter and you are?"

Marlene introduced herself and shook hands with the girl. Lily was about to say something before Marlene interrupted her, "is this normal?" she whispered, indicating towards the five Gryffindors across from her.

She watched as Lily pursed her lips and eyed James, "bloody hell, not again," she murmured.

Just before Marlene could ask what was wrong, another blonde haired girl slid next to her, "you're in for a real treat," she said, smiling at the five. Marlene was utterly confused, and then she heard it. A little fizz followed by a bang. She looked up at the enchanted ceiling, and was convinced, that for a sliver of a second, she'd seen a little spark. Then it happened again, but on the other side of the hall.

All around, students and teachers were looking up at the ceiling. McGonagall nudged Dumbledore before pulling out her own wand. Dumbledore chucked and nodded towards James and the others, "let's just see where it goes this time," he said. McGonagall raised an eyebrow, as she slid her wand back in her pocket. She wasn't going to show it, but she also found the Marauders magical capabilities quite extraordinary. There really wasn't nothing they could not do.

A few more bangs and lights shimmered from the ceiling and that's when it happened. The five students were manipulating the ceiling to show an excellent firework display. Marlene looked back to the table and saw that James had disappeared. A moment later, that thought was blown out of her mind as a huge red firework blew over their table. Then a yellow one at the Hufflepuff table, and a blue on eat the Ravenclaw table, and green for the Slytherins. A huge firework display caught the attention of everyone in the hall. Out of the ceiling, made completely of fireworks was a dragon, which hovered above the tables and snorted out smaller fireworks. Students clapped and screamed when they saw a lion, badger, eagle, and snake emerge from the other side of the hall, and charge the evil dragon down. It turned in to a huge battle, as fireworks rained down over the tables, sprinkling confetti. The badger charged and bit past of the dragon, causing it to snort fire in pain. The Eagle brought its talons down on the dragons hide, and as the scales fell, they turned to confetti and little fireworks. The snake slithered around the dragons neck, and squeezed and the lion used its mouth to bite off the head.

All around students clapped and whistled, as the teachers smiled appreciatively. The snake made its way to the Slytherin table, where it burst into flames as showered them with green confetti, the eagle did so for the Ravenclaws, who were now covered in blue streamers and the same for the Hufflepuffs, but with yellow dust. Last but not least, the Lion gave a final roar before bursting into flames and showering the Gryffindors with red sparkles. A second later the regular enchanted ceiling returned but this time, the stars had reorganized themselves in to a short little sentence, ' _Brought to you by: The Marauders._ '

Immediately the teachers stood up and gave the five students a standing ovation, as did the rest of the school (except for the Slytherins, who were too busy picking confetti out of their hair). Dumbledore stood up and said, "Ah yes, moving art. Something we can all appreciate. Thank you for that performance you five." He said looking out at James who'd magically reappeared in his seat. "Now, with that wonderful ending to our night, I regret to inform you that it is now time for bed. Off you go, pip pip."

The Gryffindors all stood up, giving high fives, clapping, and patting the Marauders on the back. "Well done," said Wood. Jeremiah showed up ad praised them all for such an excellent exhibit of magic "Amazing you guys, really." He bent down, gave Demi a quick kiss, before heading off with his mates.

Remus wasn't paying much attention as Nirvana gave him a small smile and thumbs up gesture as she was swept away with the other Slytheirns and her elder siblings. He turned back to his table, "I gotta go, have to get the first years up to the portrait. The password is _mandrakes._ " With that, he and Lily shepherded the first year Gryffindors out of the hall and up the staircase.

James, Peter and the others led Marlene out of the hall, telling her all about the amazing things she'd learn while here, as well as stuff that she'd missed.

Sirius and Demi hung back for a moment, exchanged brief smiles, before chasing after the rest of the group. They used a few of the shortcuts they'd discovered throughout their years at the school. "Do you even know about all of them?" Sirius asked as they reached the deserted seventh floor corridor, "the passageways and shortcuts, I mean?"

Demi laughed before answering, "Dumbledore doesn't even know about all the secrets the castle holds, and you think that I, in my few years living here, have found them all?"

Sirius considered this for a moment, "But Dumbledore's had years here, hasn't he?" he asked tentatively.

Demi furrowed her eyebrows, "I dunno how old he is, so I wouldn't know." They entered the common room and saw a few people lounging around on the sofas. Just then James and the others entered as well. Lily and Remus came down their respective dormitory stairs, before explaining that they'd just ushered the first years to their rooms.

Marlene looked completely worn out, and the girls , saying their goodnights, and Lily ignoring James' feeble attempt to ask her out headed to their dormitory. The girls noticed that another bed had been placed in the room, with Marlene's trunk placed at the foot.

The girls, too tired to even discuss their summer vacations quickly changed before going to bed. "We'll take you round to all you classes tomorrow Marlene," Lily said, as she closed the curtains around her bed.

Marlene thanked her before asking, "so who are the Marauders?"

Lily groaned and said, "ask Demi."

Marlene turned to face the blue haired girl, on her right. Demi smiled, "Remus, James, Sirius, and Peter are the Marauders. They're pretty much the worst pranksters in the entire castle. I join them sometimes-."

"But for the most part, Demi's harmless," Kiaria yelled from the other side of the room, as Alice nodded feverently, before adding that she was basically the female Marauder.

Marlene laughed before turning back to Demi, "So I guess they're loved by everyone, right?"

They heard Lily snort as she stifled a laugh from behind the curtain. Demi sighed before saying, "Lily and her friend Severus, you know the black haired Slytherin she was talking to, hate James and Sirius. The other two are alright, but if you make an enemy of James or Sirius, they'll make your life a living hell. Believe me, I live with the both of them." She rolled the blanket off the bed and stuffed it underneath the bed.

Marlene and the others looked at her in shock, "you're going to freeze," Alice said, as she stared at Demi in disbelief.

"It's so hot!" Demi cried before sticking her wand under her pillow and lying down. She yelled goodnight, and closed the curtains around her.

Alice and Kiaria looked at Marlene, who was still confused. "She's a genius, but she's a bit mad. Not to mention she has a deadly temper," Kiaria said. Marlene mouthed the word 'oh' as she sat on the edge of her bed.

"Just because the curtain is closed, doesn't mean I can't hear you," Demi said in a dull voice. Alice mimed her head getting cut off before closing her curtains as well, and Kiaria followed suit.

Marlene said goodnight to the other girls, before pulling the curtains around and laying down. This was all one new experience for her, and she had to make the most of it. She was hoping that the stress of OWLs and the new friends shed make would distract her from her homesickness and the constant worry that sat in her stomach for fear of her parent's lives while they were working.

 _Meanwhile in the common room . . ._

"I was talking to McGonagall, and after all those horrible pranks you've pulled on me in the past few years, she's finally agreed to let me sleep in the sixth year dormitory," Frank said as he got up to head to bed.

The guys all sighed and laughed, knowing that Frank wasn't mad at them for annoying the crap out of him. Sirius was the first to get up and shake Frank's hand, "you lasted a long time mate. You did well."

Frank laughed before heading off to bed, leaving the Marauder's all alone in the common room. "So," said James, rubbing his hands together, "when do you guys want to go to the Room of Requirement?"

Remus sighed and rubbed his eyes, "are you still going to try and succeed? I mean, it's dangerous, and for all I know, I could bite you. I won't let you risk it. _I can't."_

"You were fine with it for the past two years, why are you getting cold feet now?" Sirius asked, getting all riled up. He and the other two boys as well as Demi had been spending the majority of their spare time over the past two years attempting to become animagi to help their friend, and now when they were just on the cusp of success, he was telling them to turn right around.

Remus looked completely worn, as though he'd aged ten years in a matter of seconds, "I can't let you risk your health and wellbeing. I can't. What kind of a friend would I be if I was voluntarily allowing my friends to put themselves in danger just to amuse me?"

Peter's eyes swiveled back and forth as he watched the three boys argue.

In the end James shock his head in disbelief, "we're doing it Remus, end of discussion."

Remus threw his hands up in the air and said "Fine, do what you want!"

"Good, I'm glad you understand how this works," Sirius replied sourly, before getting up and stretching. "Well, I'm off to sleep.' He headed up the boy's staircase to the dormitory.

James bit his lip, before saying "I-I think Sirius might try to do something."

Remus sighed before looking towards James. Noticing that his friend was quite distraught he looked up, paying complete attention, "what do you mean?"

James took a deep breath before saying, "I think he might try something with Demi."

Remus and Peter exchanged apprehensive looks before Peter spoke, "But she's with Jeremiah." James gave Peter a look that said _and that would stop Sirius how?_ "And Sirius knows that you'd hate that, which is why he'd never think of doing anything with her. He values your friendship."

"And he values Demi's. He's not stupid enough to do anything knowing it would throw everything out of whack if he did," Remus added. "You're stressing yourself out for no reason. He probably doesn't even think of her in that way. I mean, he's protective of her, as she's his closest female friend. And you're like a brother to him, he'd never do anything like that to you. Trust him."

James nodded slowly, "but he was hitting on her ever since she got back from her trip. What about that?"

Remus shrugged, "Sirius' has always called Demi 'love,' it's nothing new. You know him, he'll hit on anything with a pulse. He doesn't mean anything by it, okay?" He too stood up and made his way to the stairs, "you coming?"

James and Peter nodded, exiting the room and hoping that this year would be easier than they were being told it would be.


	3. Homework and Homesick

The first day of school was probably the worst one any of the fifth year students had ever had in their fifteen years of life. After being handed their new timetables, all of them headed to McGonagall's class for their first transfiguration lesson. While Alice was sincerely hoping to drop the class, after being completely horrible at it for the past four years, Lily and the others had managed to convince her to stay, just for one more year. At the present moment, the brunette was shaking slightly in Frank's arms. "I'm going to fail, I'm going to fail," she muttered over and over again, as the door opened and they took their seats. They were paired with the Ravenclaws, which made the class even harder than it was, as they were the 'smart house.' Marlene looked around the halls nervously, regretting that she'd eaten such a large breakfast. She felt it churning in her stomach, threatening to come back out.

Naturally McGonagall, who was very strict and always gave them plenty of homework would be the death of them this year. The Gryffindors took their usual seats, with Marlene settled between Kiaria and Lily. Remus, Demi and Peter took the next row, while James and Sirius sat behind them, with Frank and Alice on their left.

McGonagall strolled in the room a few moments later, her arms laden with rolls of parchment. She moved her spectacles down her nose, so that they were sitting right on the tip, as she surveyed the class. She pursed her lips before speaking, "Now, I know that many of you are worried about your OWLs, and will probably spend the majority of the year feverishly reviewing four years' worth of notes. I just want to let you know, that is not the case." Here she paused, as some of the class exhaled, smiling just a bit more. "It will be a lot worse. Not only will you have to review everything you've ever done, theory and practical, but you will also have to master the newer information that I shall be teaching in this class. If you thought transfiguration was difficult before, I consider it my duty to inform you, that it is about to get worse. Mounds of homework will be given, starting today," she said, flicking her wand on the blackboard behind her, which showed the day's lesson. She looked back at the class, where everyone was sitting in shock. "I suggest you write this down. Write everything down." There was a ton of noise as students began grabbing parchment, ink bottles, and quills, before beginning to copy the board. "Today we will be starting Vanishing Spells, which are far less complex than Conjuring Spells, but nevertheless, it is one of the more difficult elements of Transfiguration."

McGonagall drew her wand out from beneath her emerald green cloak and pointed at a raven sitting on her desk. She muttered " _evanesco_ ," and the raven completely disappeared. A few moments later, she waved her wand, and the raven reappeared on the perch. The students looked at her in shock, before Lily raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Evans," said McGonagall, as she moved to the cupboard for a box.

"Professor, where did the raven go, when you vanished it?" she asked, looking curiously at the bird, who ruffled its feathers and looked around the room.

"It went into non-being, that is to say everything," McGonagall said, as she handed out snails to everyone in the room.

Sirius lent over, "so this is philosophy too now?" he said to James, who stifled his laughter as McGonagall drew nearer. She placed two snails between the boys, "and no engorgement charms this time," she said, looking at them both.

Sirius looked quite affronted, "Minnie, what have we done to deserve such an unfounded accusation?" he said, placing an hand on his heart.

Professor McGonagall sighed, not even bothering to correct the two boys, who constantly called her 'Minnie'. "Unless I am mistaken, it was you Mr. Black, aided by Mr. Potter who made over three slugs explode the previous year using an engorgement charm."

"I don't remember doing that," Sirius muttered out of the corner of his mouth to James, who also looked confused.

McGonagall looked back at their table from the other side of the class, "and how do you two plan on passing my class if you do not plan on taking any notes?" she asked, gesturing to their desks, which were bare, save for the two snails, who were crawling slowly to the edge of the table.

James raised his eyebrows as he pulled out his wand, "I bet you we'll be able to vanish these little suckers by the end of the lesson," he said looking at the clock.

McGonagall smiled wryly, "One hour, Mr. Potter. If you or Mr. Black succeed, I shall refrain from giving you both detention for your lack of respect and preparedness."

The two boys agreed to the professor's terms, as Lily tutted from the front of the room, completely appalled by their behaviour. "Do they do this all the time?" Marlene whispered, indicating to James and Sirius, whose wands lay abandoned along with their snails, as they talked.

Lily shook her head, "I don't even care what that toerag does," she replied, focusing on vanishing the snail.

Peter and Alice were both looking extremely concerned with the task and spent most of the hour pouring over the note they'd taken, rather than doing the practical. Demi and Remus consulted their notes at various points during the lesson, as neither of them had made any significant changes to their snails.

By the end of the hour, none of the Ravenclaws had made any difference to their snails. Remus, Lily, Demi, and (surprisingly) Marlene had managed to vanish the shells of their snails. Frank and Kiaira had only vanished the antennae, while Peter and Alice hadn't made any changes, nor attempted the spell.

McGonagall walked up to the two boys in the back, who were still talking animatedly. They hadn't noticed the Professor hovering over them until she coughed and placed the box of snails heavily on their desks. "I see they are still there," she said, looking at the snails, which were hovering by the edge of the table.

James and Sirius exchanged mischievous smiles before each picking up a snail and placing it in front of them. They picked up their wands and looked up at the professor, "we still have 30 seconds," said Sirius, looking at his watch.

"And you think you'll succeed?" she asked, eyeing them both, "Proceed."

James and Sirius turned to face one another, "good luck," they said simultaneously. James went first, focusing on the snail and concentrating hard, "evanesco" he said pointing the wand directly at the snail, which a second later vanished.

McGonagall nodded her head curtly, "well done Mr. Potter, and Mr. Black?" she said, looking at his snail.

Sirius waved his wand, muttering the incantation, and a moment later, his snail was also gone.

McGonagall conjured them up and placed them in the box, before nodding at both the boys. "Well done Messers Black and Potter. No detentions, and ten points each to Gryffindor," before leaving she gave them both a rare smile. She then announced that those who had failed to vanish their snails, must practice for homework on top of the essay she'd assigned on how the complexity of the object being vanished determine's how hard it is to be vanished. The two boys quickly slung their bags over their shoulders as the bell rang, and the Ravenclaws shot them jealous looks as they headed to Charms. Luckily enough, the Gryffindors were having Charms with the Hufflepuffs, which meant that they were free from the withering looks of the Ravenclaws, until Defence after lunch.

Upon their arrival, Flitwick immediately launched into his well-known 'OWLs' speech. The other students, who had older sibling tell them what Flitwick would say looked at the short wizard with a glint of humour in their eyes, while the vast majority of them looked at him with concern. "While everyone in this class has managed to pass the last four years of exams, these OWLs are what guarantees you a spot in your sixth year classes, which will be used to further your education, pass the school level. In order to pass a class, you must have acquired or surpassed the requested level. For example, in Charms, you may not advance to the NEWT level if you receive lower than 'Exceeds Expectations.'" And with that, he too began teaching them the silencing charm, which would definitely be on the exam. On Flitwick's desk was a huge raven, cawing loudly. With a jab of his wand, he said "Silencio" and the raven continued to open and close its beak soundlessly. He then began handing out toads, and allowed the class to practice. By the end of the lesson, Lily, Demi, and Remus were the only ones to successfully silence their toads. Flitwick had never given them more homework than necessary and by the end of their lesson, which included practicing the charm and a paragraph on its uses.

By the time the fifth years were making their way down to lunch, they were thoroughly regretting having returned for their fifth year. "Honestly, it's a nightmare, and we haven't even been here for five hours yet," Sirius said, gnawing into a ham and cheese sandwich.

"But I suspect they're giving us loads of work now, so that they can lessen the burden as the year goes out, that way we'll have more time to study," Remus said, pouring some juice.

"Yeah, but you've got prefect duties, your furry little problem, and we've got Quidditch," James pointed out. "Now unless you can freeze time, there's no way everyone can fit in all this homework."

James had chosen the wrong moment to speak as Demi came and sat down next to them (she'd just been talking to Jeremiah upon entering the hall, "Really? Lily and I spent all of charms doing the transfiguration paper. Didn't take too long to finish, and we had out textbooks with us anyway. Now all I have is the paragraph for charms and the practical for Transfig." Peter, Sirius, and James gave her a dirty look, before she added, "what kind of friend would I be if I didn't let you read my essay?" she said, smirking.

Sirius wrapped his arms around her, "Thank God."

"Thank me," she replied, shoving Sirius off of her. She pulled out a spare piece of parchment, ink, and quill. By the end of the lunch hour, she'd managed to finish her Charms paragraph as well.

"You do realize that we have the entire evening to do our homework, right?" Peter asked, as they headed down to Potions, their last class of the day.

Demi nodded, "Jeremiah was telling me about the amount of homework that Slughorn will be giving us. Believe me, the evening won't be able to cover it. And Xeno, who had Potions this morning, told me that Slughorn's going to set a foot long essay, so I'll be damned if you're not still working past twelve tonight." The other guys sighed as they entered the classroom, which was still filled with smoke from the previous class.

Slughorn emerged from the storeroom a few minutes later, his arms laden with supplies for the day's class. He too, launched into a very descriptive and boring speech about how he would not accept anyone who hadn't scraped an 'exceeds expectations' in the class. "I think it is appropriate," he continued, "to remind you that in June, you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions. As for now, we will be starting on the simplest potion of the year; the Draught of Peace. The recipe for which can be found of page 23 of your books. Ingredients are at the front of the room, and please try not to blow anything up" here he looked at James and Sirius, who stared blankly at the professor. "The two students who brew the most sufficient draught, will be awarded 20 points each." And with that, the entire class began swarming around the table.

Half an hour later, when the classroom was thick with silvery smoke, and the brewing was almost at an end Slughorn walked over to Lily and Snape, who'd managed to get their potion to the required turquoise blue. "Miss Evans and Mr Snape, well done to you both," here he lowered his voice, "I would trust that you ca keep a secret, yes?" he asked. The pair exchanged bemused looks before nodding. Slughorn smiled before continuing, "I usually have a small get together, you know, for the select student or two. Would you be game?"

Lily was startled, and took a moment to regain her thoughts, "of course Porfessor, we'd be delighted to attend, wouldn't we?" she said, nudging Severus as she smiled up at Slughorn.

"Uh, yes sir, delighted," Severus added, grinning awkwardly.

Slughorn was positively beaming, "splendid. Look for my owl," he said, as he strolled away towards the other Slytherins.

Severus took his absence and turned to face Lily, "are you seriously considering going?" he asked.

Lily nodded, "of course. Don't you remember Andrew Walforg of Ravenclaw? He graduated a few years ago, and he managed to get a spot in the Ministry's Law Enforcement Office because of Slughorn! Think about it! He's an amazing teacher, and he has all these connections as well! I'm telling you it would be mad if we didn't go."

Severus shrugged and nodded, peaking into the cauldron, "think it's done," he said indicating the silver vapour that was pouring out of the cauldron.

A few moment later, Slughorn called out the time, and began walking between the rows of tables, he was close to giving Remus and Demi the thirty points, as their potion had reached an aquamarine colour, but then Severus and Lily's station caught his eye. He sweeped toward them and peaked inside his potion. "By Jove, it is perfect!" he said, ladeling some of the potion up and pouring it back in the cauldron, allowing the other students to see, "I daresay one drop would relieve anyone of anxiety immediately. Thirty points to Slytheirn and Gryffindor." The two sides of the room cheered up slightly, but their happiness was extinguished when Slughorn continued. "Now for your homework, a foot long essay on the properties of moonstone and its usage in potion-making on my desk this Friday."

The entire class groaned, "But sir it's already Wednesday! And we've got a ton of work from our other classes," said Avery, a Slytherin boy.

"And we've got Quidditch tryouts tomorrow sir, surely you'd want us to win this year," said Mulciber, giving the Gryffindors a look of pure loathing.

Slughorn smiled superiorly, "Well if you want to fail your OWLs and not hand in the assignment, be my guest. But I will tell you this; all the work that we teachers are giving you, is to help you prepare for your future, not only the final years of schooling. Think on that," he said, as the bell rang, and the students began to pack up their things. Slughorn gave Severus and Lily a curt nod, before leaving the room.

Avery and Mulciber walked over to where James, Sirius and Demi were cleaning up their supplies, "see you on the pitch, losers" and with that, they followed the rest of their house out of the room.

James and Sirius exchanged a bemused look before laughing, "Oh man, was that the best they could come up with?" they asked.

Demi sighed as she joined the other four boys as they left the class, "We have to give them some credit. The Slytherins aren't exactly the most creative bunch."

They headed up to the common room, all complaining from the amount of work they had to do. Remus even more so, than the others. While Kiaria, Frank, Marlene and Alice made a beeline for the library to get started on Slughorn's essay, the rest of them dumped their bags on the floor by the sofas, taking a break before getting started on their work. "I'm going to be here all night," he whispered to the others, even though the room was empty, as he pulled out some parchment to start his essay, "The full moon is on Friday, and I'll probably be all cooped up in the Wing until Tuesday, at least."

The others looked slightly startled, "Why would you be in the Hospital wing for that long?" they asked, looking concerned. "Normally it's just a day or so, maximum two from what I've noticed," James said.

Remus sighed as he began writing, "I'm getting older, which means that when I transform, the werewolf is growing as well. I can feel my bones elongating and fusing together when I transform, and it's getting even more painful. Not to mention that I'm getting stronger. I nearly clawed my way out of the shed at home, and it's made with wizard industrial-level materials."

Demi sighed before putting a comforting arm around Remus' shoulder, "we've got your back mat. Just like you've had ours for the past four years. You need help with anything, let us know."

Remus smiled as he flicked through the Transfiguration book, "Normally I wouldn't complain, but seeing as I have to do the homework to understand the class, so that I can pass my OWLs, I can't let you do the work for me."

Sirius sighed before speaking, "we know that, we just mean that if you're in the wing, and you still want to do your homework," here he turned to face the others "which I don't know why you'd want to do," he turned back to Remus, "we'll be there. Writing as you dictate, giving you updates on classes. Anything," he finished, as pulled out some parchment as well.

Remus gave him a grateful smile and they continued to work in silence, only speaking when asking for advice.

An hour later, Sirius, James, Demi and Peter finished their Potions essays, and Demi quickly pulled out her Transfiguration essay, so the boys could consult it. "I'll be back in a bit," she said, heading out of the portrait door, "just going to get some food. Does anyone want anything?" she asked.

Remus stood up, placing his finished Transfig essay in front of the guys, "I'll come with you, I'm starving." The pair headed out of the portrait hole and in to the seventh floor corridor. They could see a bunch of students walking in and around the stairs, and decided it would be safer to use the secret passageways down to the kitchen. A few moments later, they were by the basement, just underneath the Great Hall, ticking a green pear, which promptly turned into a handle.

Remus pulled the door open, allowing Demi to climb inside. "Ladies first," he said, heling her in.

They were greeted by house-elves as soon as they entered. One of them, an old male elf, nudged his way in front of them, bowing so that his bat-like ears tickled the floor, "Welcome, Master Lupin, Mistress Dumbledore. How may we serve you today?" he asked.

Remus suppressed a laugh, as the pompus elf led them to a small table, decorated with a plaid cloth, plates, goblets, and cutlery. "Oh, we're fine. We just wanted some snacks, please" he said to the elf, who was about to make them a spot of tea.

The elf looked up in surprise, "of course, of course," he ran down the hallway and turned into a room. He returned a moment later, a box full of food in his hands, "Here you are Master Lupin," he said giving Remus the box. Another elf, female this time, passed Demi a huge thermos of Pumpkin juice, and five goblets.

"Thank you very much, Ginger" Demi said thanking the female house elf, "and you as well Nook." The house elves bowed once more as the pair took their leave. They used the passageways once more, to avoid being caught with food. Demi held up a tapestry as Remus entered a hidden room. She followed closing it behind her, "So, how's Nirvana?" she asked conversationally. She was the only one who knew about Remus' secret relationship with the young, blonde Carrow.

Remus smiled, "it's going fine. I just wish we could spend more time together, you know?" Demi nodded, as they crept up a narrow staircase. "I mean, we can't be seen in public, so we spent all of last year in the library, 'cause no one we know really goes in there." He sighed before continuing, "And now we've got our OWLs, the fact that I have a furry little problem, and that I'm a prefect! We'd usually spend the nights wandering around the school before curfew, but now I spend the nights patrolling the corridors."

Demi regarded his problem thoughtfully, "perhaps you ought to tell someone that could help you in this predicament."

Remus swiveled around and stared at her, his eyes wide "you mean the other guys?" he asked. "They'd be too busy trying to get me to break up with her, or something."

Demi smiled, "how dumb do you think I am? They're the people you go to if you wanted to end the relationship. I meant someone who shares the same responsibilities."

Remus looked confused for a moment, before Demi's thoughts gave him an idea. A look of understanding dawned upon his face, "Lily!" he said.

Demi smiled, "Exactly. She has a friend who is a Slytherin, so she knows exactly what you're going through, albeit not on _that_ level if you know what I mean. But she's also a prefect, and if you told her this, coupled with your furry little problem, then she'd be able to help you."

Remus nodded, but then looked taken aback, "you mean, tell her about . . . about . . . the . . .?" he asked, looking at Demi as though she'd just expressed the desire to become an acrobat. "She's never speak to me again!" he cried.

Demi sighed, as they continued, nearing the seventh floor, "she's understand, believe me. And besides, she's the smartest girl in our year. She's probably already figured it out."

Remus nodded slowly, considering her words, "okay, I'll try, but I'm going to need some form of moral support there. Someone who already knows my secret," he turned to face Demi, with a pleading look on his face, "please?" he asked, giving her his best puppy dog eyes.

Demi smiled before shaking her head, "You know I can't resist the puppy dog eyes!" she replied.

Remus gave her a hug, before pulling another tapestry out of the way. They emerged in the Fat Lady's corridor and entered the room. The room was still empty, except for the other three boys, who were just finishing their versions of Demi's essay. They quickly got up, and helped the other two with the food, pouring out drinks and grabbing the plates and cutlery. They ate in silence until everyone was finished eating.

"So, what do we have left?" Sirius asked, referring to the homework.

Peter looked thoughtful for a moment, "uh, the charms paragraph and then practical for Charms and Transfig."

Remus sighed, "I still have to do my Potions essay, and charms paragraph," he sighed, as the clock chimed 5. He looked to the portrait door and then to the plates, forks, and goblets, "damn, we have to get rid of these."

Demi pulled out her wand, "time for some Transfiguration, I believe" she said, as the boys followed suit. It took a few minutes of feeble attempts, but soon they were able to vanish the mess they'd made. Peter had just managed to vanish his first plate, as the door swung open and students flooded in, dropping some of their stuff off, taking a quick break before heading down to dinner.

Marlene entered with the others, who joined Demi and the four boys on the sofas, "Today was so much fun!" she squealed, looking positively delighted. "I mean, yeah sure we have homework, but its actually interesting!" she cried, as she stood up to put her bag upstairs and freshen up. "I can't wait for tomorrow's lessons." She quickly got up and headed to the staircase, her blonde locks trailing behind her.

Sirius and James looked at her back as she left, "she's mental" they both said.

The others began to talk of their assignments, going over what they'd written. Forty five minutes later, they were all about to head down, and Marlene still hadn't come down. Lily, who'd just arrived to drop off her bag, told the others she'd check on the girl. "I suppose she's fallen asleep. I did the same thing on my first day," said Demi, which was true. When the girl wasn't studying, or pulling pranks, she was asleep.

Lily told the others to head on without her, as she clambered up the stairs. Just as she reached the dormitory door, she heard someone crying. She pressed her ear to the door, and heard the voice coming from inside. Slowly, and taking a deep breath, Lily pushed the door open, "Marlene?" she said, as she entered the room. Lily looked towards the new girl's bed, where the curtains had been pulled around. "Marlene, it's me. It's Lily. Are you alright?"

She heard a sniffle before Marlene answered, "Uh, yeah, I'm fine." A second later, the curtain was pulled back to reveal a small blonde girl, who's blue eyes were tinged with red and swollen.

"Aw," Lily cried, sitting down next to Marlene, and wrapping her arms around her, "your missing home, aren't you?" she asked. Marlene nodded, as tears poured down her face, and stained Lily's robe (she didn't mind). "I know exactly how you feel. You miss your parents because, ever since you were a child, they were your only surroundings. It feels weird being somewhere completely new, and all alone. But you've got to believe me when I say, 'you've got friends here.' You have all of us. Me, Demi, Kiaria, Alice, Frank, even Potter and his friends," Lily added reluctantly. "Yeah sure he's a bullying idiot, but he's got your back. We all do. You need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

Marlene's sniffles began to subside as she lifted her head off Lily's shoulders, she pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her eyes, before blowing her nose. "Thanks Lily, I knew I could count on you."

The redhead did a little hair flip, "ugh, everyone can," she said jokingly, causing Marlene to laugh. "Let me just fix your eyes. No one would say anything, but some of the Slytherins can be very rude." Lily whipped out her wand and a moment later, Marlene's eyes were back to normal. "Let's go down to dinner" Lily said, offering the girl and arm, which she took gladly.

They made their way out of the common room and down the stairs, "why didn't you tell any of us if you were upset?" Lily asked.

"Well, I didn't know who to ask," Marlene replied softly.

"I always go to Demi when I have a problem," Lily replied helpfully, "she almost always knows what to do."

Marlene sniffed again before replying, "She scares me a little," she replied, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

Lily looked slightly taken aback, as she looked at the girl, "Really?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I feel like there's a certain hardness to her. Her eyes, hair, and she looks as though she can beat me up easily."

Lily considered her words for a moment, "I've never really thought about that, but I mean, I guess I can see where you're coming from. Yeah, you know her from before, but once you really get to know her and her life, she's pretty harmless, unless you get on her bad side."

Marlene smiled, "What is her bad side?" she asked.

Lily looked thoughtful, "I've seen her in a temper, and she's terrifying. But I don't know what her bad side is. But whatever it looks like, you probably won't see it. She's harmless."

With hat the two girls pushed open the doors of the Great Hall, which had suddenly appeared in front of them as they were too absorbed with their conversation. They quickly made their way to the middle of the Gryffindor table, where Alice and Kiaria had saved them a seat. "Where were you Marlene?" Demi asked, a little way down, looking slightly concerned, "We were worried about you."

"Oh, I just fell asleep," Marlene replied quickly.

Demi nodded her head knowingly, "I get that too!" she said, raising an eyebrow and smiling, before turning back to the other guys.

As Marlene helped herself to a burger, she couldn't help but to think that Hogwarts couldn't be so bad after all.


	4. Afflictions, Animagi, and Accusations

The last few days before the weekend consisted of massive amounts of homework. Kiaria, Frank, Alice, Marlene and Peter were envious of the other Gryffindors, who seemed to be managing their workload fine. While Demi and Lily were in Ancient Runes, while the others were in Divination. Frank was joined by Marlene in Care of Magical Creatures while the others were in Muggle Studies.

That Friday evening was one of the longest and most stressful yet. The fifth and seventh years were the only ones still in the common room, the only noise coming from the scratching of the quills on parchment and James rifling through his history book for answers. Suddenly, Remus stood up looking at the clock which read 10:45, and made his way towards Lily, "It's our turn to do the rounds tonight," he said dully.

Lily sighed, before grabbing her Ancient Runes homework, as Remus picked up his Defence assignment. Demi continued working for another five minutes before standing up and heading to the portrait door. She was just about to leave when James looked up, "where're you going?" he asked, eyeing her essay which sat across from him, "You can't be done yet."

Demi yawned before saying, "just going for a walk. My legs are all stiff," she pulled a face that indicated mild discomfort.

Before she left, she heard Sirius mutter "bet I could fix those legs for you," which ended with him getting James' edition of a History of Magic chucked at his head.

Demi ignored this, and made her way to the portrait, pulled her wand out as she went. She knew, judging by the time, that Remus and Lily were probably pacing around by the Great Hall, before heading to the first floor corridor. She twirled her wand around herself, as though she were wrapping herself in rope, and a moment later, she was practically a human chameleon. She crept down the Grand Staircase, and saw two figures, one with red hair by the doors to the Great Hall. Excitedly, she continued down until she was standing by Remus, "I'm here" whispered in to his left ear, causing him to jump.

Lily turned to face Remus, looking worried, "What is it?" she said, pulling out her wand.

"Nothing, it's just Demi," he replied, pointing to his left.

Lily looked next to him, "there's no one there" she replied. She was corrected a moment later when Demi popped out of thin air. Lily's mouth opened up in shock, "you can apparate?" she asked.

Demi smiled, "Nope. That my dear friend was a disillusionment charm" she replied, looking pleased with herself. "Grants the wearer with full invisibility, if you do it properly."

"Is that how you've been sneaking around the castle?" she asked warily, as Remus gave Demi a thankful smile.

"No, there are other things . . ." Demi said, trailing off "but that's not why I'm here. Our dear friend Remus has something he'd like to tell you." Demi nudged him, and gave him a supportive nod.

Remus teetered on his feet, before beginning, "Well, seeing as we are working together, I feel as though I need to be completely honest with you," he began. Lily looked somewhat confused, but caught Demi's eye. The blue-haired girl winked and gave her a look that said _just let him talk_. Lily nodded and Remus continued, "Well, I have a girlfriend."

Lily looked slightly taken aback, as she'd never seen Remus on friendly terms with any girl besides those in their house. "What does this have to do with us working together?" Lily asked.

Remus felt a blush grow on his forehead as he continued, "She's a Slytherin." And before Lily could continue, he spoke once more "and you know what it's like to have a relationship with a Slytheirn, what with Snape being your best friend."

Lily nodded mechanically, "I know exactly what you mean." She paused for a moment wondering whether it was safe to ask. Knowing that Remus was being completely open with her, she took the plunge "Who is she?"

Remus took a deep breath, as Demi slung a supportive arm around his shoulder "Nirvana Carrow."

Lily looked thoughtful for a moment, "She's the small blonde girl in our year, right? The one with the two older siblings?" she asked.

Remus nodded and continued, "I haven't told anyone because, well, they'd make a big deal of it if they knew. Demi only found out last year, and that was because she saw Nirvana and I one night, when we went for a stroll, which is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about." Lily nodded to Remus, indicating that he should continue. "She and I have been sneaking around for a while and with all this homework and my prefect duties, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind cutting me some slack while I try to sort things out. Just for a week, mind."

Lily scrunched up her nose as she considered Remus' plead. Before he could add anything else Lily nodded, smiling at the sandy haired boy, "of course Remus. I completely understand. Take all the time you need. But not too much," she added jokingly. She walked over and gave him a small hug. "I might not like James and Sirius much, but you're a good person, and working with you is more fun than I would have expected it to be."

Remus smiled, and felt as though a weight had been removed from his shoulders. But not a second later, he felt the burden return, as he'd forgotten the _other_ thing he had to tell Lily. He took a deep breath and felt Demi's place a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "that's not all though."

Lily looked taken aback, "there's more?" she asked incredulously. "Jesus Remus, how many secrets do you have?"

Remus smiled before replying with "a fair few, but this is one of my most important secrets, and I am placing my full trust in you." He walked toward her, and felt Demi release her grip. "I hope that what I am about to tell you will not break the friendship that we have, and I hope that despite the prejudices of many in the magical community, you will make up your own mind and continue to treat me as you do now." He walked up to her and lent forward slightly, "Lily, I'm a werewolf."

There was a pregnant pause, in which tension filled the air. Remus searched Lily's face for even the smallest of reactions. He was just about to repeat himself, when Lily broke into a smile, which turned into a quite laugh (so as not to cause noise). She looked at Remus' face, which held an expression of deepest concern. She then looked at Demi, whose eyebrows were raised and mouth was curled into a smirk. As the laughter subsided, she walked back to Remus, and placed her hands on his shoulders, "Finally! I thought you'd never tell me."

Now it was Remus' turn to look taken aback, "Wait, you-you knew and you aren't mad?" he asked, looking slightly confused by the outcome of the night's events.

Lily smiled, "Of course I knew. I found out way back in second year, when this one" here she jerked her head at Demi, "had a bit of an epiphany in the girls dormitory. At first I bought your whole excuse about your mother being ill, but after our second year, what with you sneaking around, I figured it out. Although I wasn't absolutely sure until our third year, when we had the werewolf essay." Remus made a noise as though to speak, but Lily ploughed on, "Kiaria, Frank, and Alice know as well. They found out in third year, but never said anything. I convinced them not to. You have enough on your plate."

Remus' face was unreadable, before it broke into a huge grin, "so-so you aren't afraid of me?" he asked hesitantly.

Lily looked him in the eyes and said "I could never see you as a monster, Remus. You're an amazing person, but you just have a- uh-" Lily was lost, for there wasn't really a word that could fully capture the nature of Remus' condition.

"A furry, little problem," Demi volunteered, from behind, causing them all to laugh.

"A furry, little problem," Lily said, "and don't worry, I will never tell anyone about it. But am I correct in assuming that the other Marauders know?" Remus nodded, "and Nirvana?' Lily asked.

Remus sighed before saying "no, no I haven't told her. Hell, no one even knows that we're dating. The last thing I need is for her to find out, break up with me, and throw everything out in the open. It's just not worth it unless our relationship actually becomes something, which at this point, is highly unlikely."

Lily nodded slowly, before speaking again "the full moon is tomorrow night, right?" she asked, and Remus nodded in response. "Well then, I'll take care of any of the prefect duties we get assigned," she replied. Before Remus could than her again she said "I've got your back. Just make sure you're ready to help me in Transfiguration, because quite frankly, I suck."

Remus smiled, and stuck out a hand, "Agreed" he said, as she shook it.

Demi clapped her hands excitedly, "And with that, I am going to head back upstairs." She pulled out her wand and was about to disillusion herself before she heard a voice.

"Not so fast, Demitria," said a jolly voice.

Demi turned slowly on the spot, her eyes closed in fear, "Hello Professor Slughorn," she replied meekly, "And how are you this fine evening?" she asked.

"I'm doing very well. Now would you mind telling me why a student is wandering around the corridors this late at night?" he asked, looking down at her.

Lily and Remus thought Demi looked an awful lot like a deer caught in headlights. She looked up, and shielded her eyes, as Slughorn illuminated the tip of his wand and shone it directly in her face. "I was going for a stroll Professor, surely you can't punish someone for that?" she said sassily.

Slughorn laughed before saying, "I'll drop you off at Gryffindor Tower, I need to speak with you anyway."

Demi, knowing she couldn't refuse, quickly nodded and said goodnight to Remus and Lily, who were trying to stifle their laughter. She and Slughorn ascended the staircase, walking in silence before he spoke, "I mentioned this to Miss Evans as well, but I am holding a party of sorts, for Hallowe'en and would be delighted if you were to attend, and feel free to bring a guest."

Demi nodded before saying, "Of course professor, I'd be honoured."

Slughorn looked quite relieved that Demi had agreed, and continued; "Professor Dumbledore told me all about your condition Miss Dumbledore, and I must say, I am quite intrigued." Demi nodded soundlessly, hoping that her lack of response would hint that a change of topic would be welcome, but Slughorn did not notice the cue as he continued. "I suspect your ordeal over the summer was quite painful, was it not?" he asked.

Demi was quiet before responding, "Yes-er-yes it was." She looked up and was relieved to see the familiar portrait of the Fat Lady a few meters in front of her. She turned to Slughorn, "thank you professor, for the invitation, escorting me here, and your-uh- concern," she added a smile, that she hoped wasn't too fake.

"Anytime, Miss Dumbledore" he replied turning back down the corridor.

Demi quickly ran towards the portrait eager to put as many feet as possible between herself and the prying professor. "Mandrakes" she said, and the door swung open, quickly she clambered inside, hoping she didn't look too flustered. She wandered into an empty common room, her homework still laying on the table. She quickly sat down and took a peak at the clock hanging above the mantle, which read 11:20. She quickly cobbled together a sufficient enough essay for McGonagall, and was startled by the arrival of Remus and Lily, who gave her a smile before heading to bed. She then finished Flitwick's assignment and completed a star chart for astronomy. She was just putting the finishing touches on her Muggle Studies worksheet when she heard someone coming down the boy's dormitory. She looked up, and saw Sirius slouching down the staircase, his hair sticking up on one side, dressed in a pair of broomstick boxers and a Quidditch World Cup shirt from the previous year.

He didn't notice her sitting at the table until he reached the bottom and looked up, wondering why the lights were still on. "Where were you?" he asked, looking slightly worn out.

"I went for a walk," Demi replied simply, continuing with her work. "Why're you still awake?"

Sirius had half a mind to sit on the sofas, but chose to pull out the chair next to Demi, "Couldn't sleep."

Demi took the moment to look at Sirius' face properly. She didn't know whether it was the lack of light, and the flicker of the embers in fireplace, but Sirius looked as though he'd aged fifteen years in a matter of days. He had dark circles under his eyes, which lacked their usual sparkle, and he rarely smiled. His hands constantly shook, and there was a new series of cuts and bruises scattered along his arms. "Are you sure that's all there is?" she asked, indicating the cuts on his arms.

He leaned back, and stretched, looking at her warily, "you know this isn't anything new," he answered as he ruffled his hair slightly.

"I know we're all worried and stressed about work," Demi began, "but I know when it's not just an absence of sleep," she put her quill down and closed her book, turning to face Sirius properly. "What's going on?"

Sirius sighed, placing his head in his hands, pressing his palms into his eyes. He took a deep breath, hoping that it was just his nerves causing him to feel nauseous; yet every time he thought about it, he felt sick to his stomach. He suddenly felt a pair of softer hands pry his away from his face, and saw Demi's black eyes looking directly into his, "don't you trust me?" she asked.

He swallowed before beginning, "You-Know-Who" he said, causing Demi to nod, indicating that she can continue. He looked down at the dark wooden floor before continuing, "Back before the start of third year, he showed up at my house, in the middle of the night. Me being the disgrace that I was, could only sneak food out of the kitchen during the middle of the night. One night, after being left in my room to starve after a horrible fight with my mother, I thought everyone was asleep."

Here he stopped, a tar sprouting from the corner of his eye, he continued to look down trying to hide it from Demi. He felt her slide her hand into his and felt another place itself under his chin, forcing him to look up. The tear escaped from his eye and began to crawl down his cheek. She wiped it away with her shirtsleeve, before nodding, "Go on."

He took a shaky breath, "anyway, I opened the kitchen and noticed the lights were on at the bottom. I waited and just heard the usual crap from my mother and father, 'he's useless,' 'a disgrace,' 'has brought shame upon the family by association with muggles,' et cetera. I was just about to barge back down, and then he spoke, talking about how I ought to be disciplined. I was just about to go back upstairs, and then it happened." He paused and thought about the best way to explain what happened next, "it was like he heard my thoughts, and suddenly he was coming up the stairs with my parents. My parents were so angry, and were ready to punish me, but before they could, You-Know-Who told them not to. I thought he was being merciful, which looking back on it was ridiculous to think, but then he pulled out his wand and-and . . ." here he trailed off, more tears streaming down his face.

Demi quickly pulled him into a hug, as best she could. She felt Sirius bury his face in her shoulder, and tears soaked her shirt. She patted him on the back, as she looked out the window behind him, where the sun was starting to rise. Demi looked up over the window to another clock, and saw the time; 4:38. She pulled away and saw Sirius' grey eyes swollen and red, "You can't stop re-living it, can you?" she asked.

He nodded, "It's even worse when I stay up really late, or I'm stressed. I end up waking up in a cold sweat and my entire body hurts," he croaked.

Demi sighed and nodded her head, "I know, believe me, I know." She began packing up her stuff, and Sirius helped her, the pair giving each other supportive smiles, and cracking jokes at the expense of the other's most irritating studying habits, trying to cheer one another up.

It was when they were about to head up to their respective dormitories when Sirius looked up at her hopefully, before asking "you've been through this," to which Demi nodded. "When does it stop?" he asked, looking awfully like a young child, begging for relief from some terminal illness.

Demi sighed before placing a hand on Sirius' shoulder, "I'll let you know when I find out," and with that she gave him a quick hug before heading up the stairs, leaving Sirius alone with his thoughts for a few minutes before he too went to bed.

"Quidditch tryouts. Next week Friday at 2," said Wood, looking at James, Kiaria, Sirius, and Demi. "You guys better be coming out, or I will hunt you down, and kick your ass?" James and Sirius sniggered trying to imagine Wood in a muggle fight. He, however, was not amused "Quidditch is no laughing matter," he said looking quite intense, causing James and Sirius to shut up. "This is about more than defending our title, it is about honour, pride, and glory." He tapped the 'C' for captain badge on his chest. "I need my best players, and I need the best team. With more practice and planning excellent strategies, we will win." With this, he stalked off, his friends trailing behind, laughing at their friend's passion.

"He nearly got you killed last year," James said nodding to Demi, as they continued with their breakfast.

Marlene, who was sitting next to Demi looked at her curiously, "really?" she asked.

Demi laughed, "Wood's a bit-intense- when it comes to Quidditch. As long as we win, he doesn't care how many of us go down."

"Not to mention how many we take down with us," Sirius said, waving a speared piece of bacon around at Demi.

Lily and Remus were sitting in the middle of the group, looking positively exhausted. Remus, as the full moon was rising tonight, and Lily from going to bed late. The only others that could give them a run for their money were Demi and Sirius, who despite being able to hold a conversation without drifting off to sleep, Sirius had such dark circles under his eyes, it looked as though he had black eyes. Demi, while having no visible signs of sleep deprivation, sounded as though she'd just been shaken awake.

They continued to eat in silence, until they were done, at which point they headed back up to the common room. Marlene, Frank, Alice, Kiaira and Lily were working on their assignments, having spent the majority of yesterday gossiping and relaxing.

The Marauders and Demi decided to go down to visit Hagrid, who was tending to the pumpkin patch, while Fang the baby hound pranced around the fields. "How are yeh?" Hagrid asked, patting them all on the shoulders, causing them to shake. "I was starten' ter think yeh'd forgetten where I live?" he said, inviting them in for some tea.

They continued to talk conversationally until Hagrid also brought up the topic of OWLs, "ne'er took 'em. Was kick'd out before I could even write 'em."

"Why did you get kicked out?" James asked, interestedly. They'd all asked over the past four years, but Hagrid, much like today, feigned deafness when the topic arose.

"Don't go worry'n about me. Make sure yeh behave yerselves," he said, as they left the hut.

"We will Hagrid," they yelled as they walked back up the lawn. James looked towards the others, "What do you want to do now?"

"We could go to the Room of Requirement?" Sirius suggested, as they hadn't gone out to practice their animagi transformations. The others agreed and before long, they were back in the familiar room with the huge sofa and mirrored walls.

So far Peter was the only one left that could not change completely, while also finding it difficult to transform back.

They hung around for two hours, during which Sirius, Demi and James changed back and forth, the only problem being that James' antlers were too heavy on one side, and he spent ten minutes with his head tiled far too much to the right. Sirius pranced around, shaking his tail at the others, and attempting to maul James when being called a "mangy mutt." Demi joined them later on, however, her appearance had changed. While for the past few years her animagi form was a coyote, when she transformed, she changed into a blue-black wolf, with pure black eyes.

"Wait, what?" Remus said, looking at her form. The other three guys, who had transformed back looked at Demi curiously.

"I didn't think your animagus could change," Sirius muttered as James walked around Demi curiously.

When she transformed back a moment later, she found herself being bombarded with questions. "What happened?" James asked, looking thoroughly astonished.

"I-I don't know" Demi said, scratching her head and scrunching up her nose as she thought hard. I just focused on transforming, and that's what happened."

Remus picked up one of the books, which usually showed up when they asked for this room entitled, _Animagus Transformations 101._ He read for a few minutes before saying "it states that 'a wizard or witch's animagi may change, much like their patronus can. This can be caused by emotion upheaval of sorts.'"

They all turned to face her, and she began to blush deeply, "What?" she asked, looking at each of them in turn.

James flopped down on the sofa and grinned maniacally, "So . . . what's new?" he asked teasingly.

Demi laughed, "shove off," she said, as she checked the time, "Shit, I've got to meet Jeremiah in two minutes. I'll see you at dinner," she said, running to Remus and giving him a hug "be good, okay?" she said, before sliding out of the door.

They all sat in silence before James spoke again, "so, what qualifies as 'emotional upheaval'?" he asked Remus, who'd left the book open next to him.

He picked it up and read, "Uh. . . change in faith, fights with family, falling in love . . ." here Remus' voice faltered off.

Peter jerked up, "you don't mean . . .?" and he looked over to James, who was looking freakishly shocked.

Remus wordlessly tossed the book to James, who pushed his glasses up his nose and began to read, his mouth dropping in a comical 'o.' Sirius lent over and read over James' shoulder, his eyes bulging out of his head. "Falling in eternal, unchanging love," James muttered. He looked over at the other guys, looking positively frightened. He said one word before the room lapsed into complete silence; "Jeremiah."

Dinner was a solitary affair, as the boys separated themselves from Demi, who was sitting next to Lily. She waved at the guys as they came and sat down at the table, but was shocked when they left a huge gap between her and James. Immediately after dinner had finished, she moved over to talk to them, but they'd quickly left the hall and headed immediately for the common room. Remus had already left for the hospital wing, and soon Demi had no choice to follow Lily back to the library, where she was forced to make small talk with Marlene as they worked through some of their revision.

It was 8 by the time they'd returned to the packed common room. Just as they entered, Demi had caught Peter's eye, who nudged James and Sirius, who turned to face her too, all three with confused and disturbed looks on their faces. She tried to edge her way towards them, but the crowd was thick, and by the time shed reached the sofas, the boys had gone to the dormitory. Demi frowned, but chose not to dwell on the mystery and occupied herself with the practical for the vanishing spell.

Demi went to bed that night, wondering what she'd done to deserve being ignored by her friends.


	5. Hogsmeade and Hufflepuffs

**Just so you all know, none of these chapters were prewritten! I have been constantly writing for about 6 days straight. I don't know why, but I have the opposite of writer's block, and now it's all just flowing out onto Word. And then there's the fact that I really need to get the fifth year finished before the 10 of September, which is when I start University. I just wanna get this year out of the way, because it will be the most intense, until I write the sixth and seventh. So, here you are, another chapter.**

The next week passed miserably for Demi as the Marauders kept their distance away from her. At first, she was slightly unaware, thinking it was the amount of homework that they'd been assigned that caused the four boys to defect to the library whenever she entered the common room and vice versa.

She remembered Tuesday; the day she had gone to visit Remus in the hospital wing. She'd managed to trick Peter into telling her that Remus had had a particularly horrible and painful full moon. She'd gone up at lunch, hoping to fill Remus in on what he'd missed over the past morning. "We've got another star chart from Sinistra, a paper about electricity from Beckensly, Slughorn's given us an extension for the Griffin Claw essay, while Flitwick and McGonagall are just making us write an entire appendix on all the spells and charms we've learnt in the past four years, along with the ones we're learning now. And Nirvus (the new defence professor) want us to write an essay about the origins of the Unforgivable Curses." She too a breath before looking down at Remus, who in spite of being covered in scratch marks and bite, was cringing more from Demi's voice than from the pain. She sighed before taking a seat next to him, "What's wrong? Why won't any of you talk to me?" she asked, nervously.

Remus closed his eyes, and didn't respond for several minutes. Demi, for a fleeting moment had thought he'd fallen asleep before he said two words, "emotional upheaval."

Demi looked startled, expecting him to launch into a full out speech on something that she had done wrong. Thinking that the topic at hand wasn't as bad as she'd thought it was going to be, she let out a nervous, but relief-filled breath. "What about that?" she asked, the tension in her muscles subsiding.

"Well, when you left, we went back to reading the book and it said that . . . well, it said that falling in love qualifies as a form of emotional upheaval," he said slowly, as though he were carefully choosing each word.

Demi was silent for a moment before her mind reached the conclusion that theirs did on Saturday. Her hand quickly covered her mouth in shock, "Jeremiah." Remus nodded, confirming her suspicions. He was waiting for her to go in to some sort of girly giggle fit, but she slowly began to laugh, until it was so uncontrollable, that Madam Pomfrey had gotten out of her office had yelled at her for being disruptive to Remus' health. When the matron had finally left, demi turned to face Remus her face still red and voice still breathy from laughing so hard. "You think I'm in love with him?" she asked, somewhat shocked and amused. Remus nodded slowly again, thinking he might anger her if he seemed too adamant about it. She cocked her head to the side as though she were seriously considering the boys' assumption, before shaking her head from side to side, "No, no, that's not it. Believe me, I would know if I were in love . . . at least, I'd like to think that I would." She looked rather lost for a moment before continuing, "No, if anything it's because of the whole incident last year. I mean, that technically counts as emotional upheaval, doesn't it?"

Remus considered this before breaking out into a grin, "I'd say it does." He waited for a moment before asking, "So you aren't in love with . . ?"

Demi shook her head vigorously, "No, I'm way too young to be thinking that far ahead. If anything, Jeremiah and I are close, but we aren't anywhere near that level yet. I don't think we ever will be, now that I consider it. He's nice, but he seems a bit distant, what with him preparing for NEWTs in the next year, and we've got our OWLs. But I can't lie, things are going as good as ever."

Remus let out a bit of a laugh before saying, "Well, if anyone's in love, it's Alice and Frank! The pair are practically inseparable."

"I know! I didn't think it would last this long, especially considering that they started going out so long ago. And they never fight either!"

"What is their secret?" Remus asked, in a soft and curious voice, his eyebrows furrowed. He relaxed them once he started speaking, "I guess it's a mystery."

Demi and he sat in silence for a few moments before she started to break out into raucous laughter once more. She shut up fairly quickly, when Madam Pomfrey peaked out of the office to give her one of her scathing looks. Demi turned back to Remus a smirk on her lips and mischievous glint in her eyes, "I have an idea for the best prank ever." Remus sat up eagerly, as Demi lent forward, "but this time, the other three boys will be on the receiving end," she said, her eyebrows raised cockily.

Remus smiled, "What are you going to do?" he asked, looking positively delighted at the thought of James and Sirius getting pranked.

"Well, if they are afraid that I'm 'in love' with Jeremiah, then they're about to get exactly what they fear most! I'm going to get Jeremiah in on this as well, and we're going to scare the two guys shitless." She looked distant for a moment as though she'd just thought of an external factor that may affect the prank, "We'll have to make it believable, and we'll have to go about it slowly, to make it more realistic," she said thoughtfully. She looked back at Remus who was itching with excitement, "Are you in?"

"Definitely," he said, shaking her hand, "we're going to have to do a lot of planning with him, before we actually get started on this plan."

"I'll tell him about it during the next Hogsmeade weekend. We'll be alone, and it'll be easier to explain," she said, getting up and grabbing her bag. "I've got to go, those runes won't translate themselves," she said, jogging to the door of the Wing, "get well soon Remus," she said, making a show of saying good bye to the matron.

Demi took the stairs two at a time, hoping that she'd come face to face with who she was looking for, and luck was certainly on her side, as she spotted the dark-haired sixth year in the charms corridor, she quickly ran up to him and gave him a quick hug, "I have the best prank and I need you in on it."

Jeremiah was shocked and startled by her sudden appearance, but his face broke into a smile as he grinned, "What do you need?"

Tomorrow's Quidditch tryouts were the only thing keeping James and Sirius in the castle. If it were up to them, they'd have run away, through the portrait hole, leaving everyone behind. "We could be homo," Sirius suggested to James who nodded eagerly.

Remus gave an exasperated sigh before correcting them, "you mean 'nomads'; the people who live in mobile homes" he said, "homos are the people who are in love with the same sex." Remus indicated the muggle studies textbook in front of the two boys, "read it. For our sakes."

Sirius and James were slightly abashed by their previous statement, and worked with Remus in complete silence, much to the shock of Lily, who was sitting in front of them, facing the fireplace. "Have they ever been this quiet?" she whispered to Kiaria, who shook her head.

Marlene was sitting with her back resting against Lily's legs, as she finished up the last of her Charm's appendix. She threw her quill down, and chucked the parchment onto the table in satisfaction, "Done. Finally done," she said, rubbing her aching hand. She looked up at Lily who was staring at the book in her hands, "isn't there a spell to help you if you have sore muscles?"

"There are, but I wouldn't risk it. The last time I did, Kiaria had to spend a night in the wing," Lily said, looking slightly embarrassed, "I'm not the best when it comes to healing spells. But Demi is," she added, looked up at the curly-haired girl who was sitting alone at another table, scribbling hurriedly on a piece of parchment, her History of Magic book laying open next to her, along with several others.

Marlene stood up and edged over to the girl, "Uh, Demitria?" she asked timidly.

Demi looked up, her left hand still scribbling away, "Call me Demi, and yes?" she said, pulling out a chair for Marlene to sit on.

The blond teetered on her feet, before giving in and perching herself gently on the chair, ready to get up and run if need be. "I-uh, was wondering if you knew any spells to fix cramped muscles?" she asked hesitantly, for Demi had gone back to her work.

Demi looked at her, her eyebrows raised. Marlene shifted slightly, thinking the girl was about to go in to a rage. She was slightly taken aback, when Demi smiled and pulled out her wand from her jumper, "Sure," she replied, pointing at Marlene's right arm, " _laevo"_ she said, jabbing at the girl's arm, which quickly loosened up.

Marlene flexed her fingers and smiled, "Thanks, Demi" she said, before getting up and heading back over to Lily, who smirked at her as she sat down. "What?" Marlene asked.

"You were scared for no bloody reason," she replied, eyeing the blonde, who reddened with embarrassment.

The rest of the night was spent with little talk from the rest of the fifth, sixth, and seventh years. Lily and Remus had a hard time trying to calm down a pair of seventh years who began getting in a furious argument about the native range of Kappas. "They come from bloody Japan, you imbecile!" yelled one of the boys, whose fists were curled up in anger.

"No, Nirvus said they came from Mongolia," said the other, who was a foot taller and looked ready to smash the other teen into bits. They both whipped out their wands and had them pointed at each other's faces, before Lily and Remus managed to diffuse the situation.

Lily placed a hand on each of their arms, lowering them. "Calm down for a moment," she said, as Remus picked up an abandoned copy of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ by Newt Scamander.

"They come from Japan mate," Remus announced, and one of the boys sighed in defeat while the other looked pleased. "Sorry," he said, tossing the book to the losing man, and heading over to the table to clear up his stuff as he and Lily went out to do some of the rounds.

The pair were practically zombies throughout Defence and Muggle Studies. By lunch, Lily had already had enough of everyone and stormed up to the empty Gryffindor Tower, where she would promptly fall asleep.

Demi, Sirius, James, and Kiaria, were itching to get ready and out on the field for an hour or so prior to tryouts, as they wiggled around in their seats. "Ugh, I hate living in such a big village," said Kiaria, sighing as she groaned about how much she missed her broom. "I mean, we can't fly or anything because there are too many muggles around."

"I didn't get a chance to play any Quidditch until the last week of the summer," Sirius said, as Demi agreed, "and even that wasn't enough for me."

James looked at the others, who gave him piercing looks, "Yes I could fly around and everything, but it was a bit boring without my sister, and my best mate. Was lonely all summer," he said, sighing as he went back to his salad, stabbing at the lettuce.

Demi placed her head on James' shoulder, "I missed you a ton the entire summer," she said, as he threw an arm around her. "I was so glad to be back, despite the fact that I didn't get to spend more time relaxing than I had hoped."

The pair stayed that way until it was time to run upstairs, dump their things, change, grab their brooms and head out to the pitch. They slowly made their way back to the seventh floor, into the common room and to their respective dormitories, the girls trying not to wake Lily up. The curtain was drawn all the way round the bed, hiding Lily from their sight.

The two girls exchanged amused looks before changing out of their school robes, and in to their quidditch gear. They picked up their brooms and headed back down to the common room, where James and Sirius were pacing back and forth. "You couldn't take any longer?" Sirius asked, as they scrambled out of the portrait hole and down the corridor.

"We didn't want to wake Lils," Kiaira explained as they turned down the staircase.

"You do not want to be on the receiving end of _that_ temper," Demi added, jumping over the trick staircase. "She can be a nightmare if you wake her up like that," she said, shuddering.

"Might want to write some of this down, for the future you know" Sirius said to James as they pushed open the front doors and headed down the lawn to the pitch.

James smiled and pointed at his head, "Excellent thinking." Kiaria and Demi tried to stifle their laughter with their robes, but were caught by James, "What's so funny?" he asked.

Kiaria kept laughing while Demi explained, "When are you going to get the message; Lily is not interested in you."

Sirius began to laugh at Demi's bluntness as they waved to Wood, who was standing by the doors to the pitch, probably hoping to get in some practice as well. James huffed, "She doesn't know what she's talking about. Who can resist me? I mean, I'm a natural charmer," he replied hotly, ruffling his hair with more energy than normal.

Sirius exchanged a face with Demi, "Whatever you say, mate."

They quickly entered the pitch and climbed onto their broomsticks, shooting into the air, feeling the breeze in their hair. James forgot all about Lily as he and Kiaria practiced penalty shots, while Wood and Sirius beat the bludgers around the stadium, and Demi practiced catching and re-catching the snitch. About an hour later, students began trickling in for the tryouts. Wood, who'd already seen the others play, let them sit aside as those who were competing for the same positon were put through their paces. Sherrie who like Wood, was in her sixth year, was given back her title as keeper. Eventually, they whittled away at the names and the team was formed. They quickly wrote their names on a scroll of parchment and tacked it up on the Reminder board in the Gryffindor common room. The paper read:

 _Chasers: James Potter, Kiaria Verdana, Adam Hopkirk_

 _Beaters: Jacob Wood and Sirius Black_

 _Seeker: Demitria Dumbledore_

 _Keeper: Sherrie Lieks_

A few groans and yells were emitted by Gryffindors who were cut, and they all began to yell at wood, who promptly stood up on the chair he was sitting on. "I understand some of you are annoyed that the lineup is the same as it has been for a while, but ask yourselves this; do you want to risk this year's Cup?" With that the entire house fell silent, knowing that Wood was actually right in his speech.

"Well, at least we have one way of releasing any pent up anger we have," said Sirius pulling a stack of books towards him as he began working on his Transfiguration appendix, "We beat the shit out of the other side."

"Why so violent?" Demi asked, as she and Remus exchanged smiles.

Why so serious?" he replied winking.

The rest of the month passed in a haze, until the first Hogsmeade trip occurred. While the boys all headed straight down to Zonko's, Demi and Jeremiah managed to meet up with Remus in the Hog's Head, which was filled with enough chatter, such that they wouldn't be overheard.

"So, James and Sirius are under some delusion that you and I are in love. I mean, yeah sure we're dating, but we aren't that serious." Demi said, but then she realized what she was saying and continued to mitigate the damage, "like I do love you, but not like 'I want to spend the rest of my life and have my children with you,' you know?"

Jeremiah sat there and sipped his butterbeer, enjoying how his silence caused Demi some distress. Before she could continue, he raised a hand to shush her, "Relax, I feel the same way," he said. "But how are we going to convince them that we're, you know, 'in love'?" he asked. "Surely they'd be able to tell, and it's not like we're the best actors."

This was where Remus jumped in, "James and Sirius, despite being quite smart when it comes to magic, are very impressionable, when it comes to what they see. You can show them anything and convince them it's real, that's partly where this idea came from. They were- and still are- under this delusion that you and Demi are in love. I don't know where they got the idea from, but the pair of them are too afraid of Demi to ask," Remus explained, "of course you know about her temper."

Jeremiah gave a small laugh, before looked at Demi, "I know about that temper, all right. Her row with Sirius, and some of the Slytherins, they are legendary."

"Exactly, which gives us the upper hand. All we need to do is walk around and make it look extra lovey-dovey between us whenever they're near. I guarantee that by Christmas, we'll have them scared straight."

"That'll teach them to interfere with our relationship," Jeremiah said, planting a kiss on top of Demi's head. He turned to Remus, "But I swear you were one of the first people to instantly hate e when we started going out?" he asked.

Remus' face reddened, "Ah well, she's one of my best friends. I wanted to look out for her, and I am happy to say that she is in excellent hands." The pair shook hands, as Remus excused himself, hoping that the other three boys, while in the midst of all the pranking products at Zonko's, had not noticed his absence.

Demi and Jeremiah continued talking, and upon finishing their butterbeer, headed out for a walk in the cold September air. They wandered down to a few of the shops, stopping to chat with some of the other students they knew as they passed by.

"So, when are the Ravenclaw tryouts?" Demi asked, as they made their way up and back to Hogwarts.

Jeremiah frowned, "Uh, I think they're the weekend after next. But I'm not sure whether to try out or not."

Demi stopped looking up at him, worry and confusion in her eyes "Why not?" she asked sharply. "You're the best seeker they've ever had. I mean, after they got rid of Lockhart."

"That's just it, I was filling in for Gilderoy because he couldn't play in the first match of the season. After that, he just let me play, and now that we're in a new year, he wants back on the team. Because I was a stand it, I thought I'd be easier to just let him have it. I mean, I have you, the last thing I need is to take away another piece of his life."

Demi broke into a smile, "Aww, look at you, being all kind and Hufflepuff-like."

"I didn't think being kind was-," Jeremiah began, as he wrapped his arms around her.

She quickly planted a kiss on his lips to stop him from talking, "I didn't mean being kind, I mean being a complete duffer." She quickly grew serious, "I can't believe you'd even think of letting Lockhart play, he was horrible. Does Ravenclaw just want to hand over the Cup?" she asked, her eyes boring into his.

"No ma'am," he replied sarcastically, as he saluted. He quickly grabbed her hand and they continued walking up the drive, "but it just seems like the fair thing to do."

This is war darling," Demi replied, "There is no such thing as fair," she continued, poking him in the chest.

Jeremiah cocked and eyebrow before saying, "You could give Wood a run for his money," before bursting into laughter.

"Hey, it wasn't that intense, was it?" she asked, looking at him for his opinion.

"Just keep acting as well as this, and we'll be able to fool everyone," he replied, planting a kiss on her lips before heading off to the Ravenclaw common room.

Demi smiled before muttering to herself, "I have _the best_ boyfriend ever." And with that, she ran upstairs to the common room, remembering the rest of the homework she had to finish.


	6. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

**A/N: I might be quiet for about two or three days, but by Monday I'll be back. I'm getting a new computer, a Macbook, I might add, and as someone who has never owned one before, I need some time to get used to it. I haven't disappeared, and I hope this chapter will tide you all over till then. Please Read and Review! :) Love A.S.P.7**

The rest of September passed in a haze of homework, and the three boys (James, Peter, and Sirius) were just beginning to see how "close" Jeremiah and Demi were. When the neither of them were doing homework, (and Demi wasn't practicing animagi, for they'd begun to get used to the wolf), she was with Jeremiah, who constantly kept snogging her, much to James' dismay. At one point, he'd actually stormed out of the hall, with Sirius on his trail when Demi kissed Jeremiah, congratulating him on _not_ making the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.

He'd tried out, and Demi had gone down to the pitch to see him play, but was shocked and angered by the fact that her ex-boyfriend Lockhart, had managed to gain the position, by **smiling** at the female Quidditch captain.

"This is completely unfair," Demi said angrily, as she shot Lockhart a dirty look over Jeremiah's shoulder, "I mean, he's a complete idiot!"

"Hate to point it out to you, but he's in Ravenclaw" Jeremiah said, as they walked out of the pitch and made their way to the castle for dinner. "And besides, his arm's gotten better and he's beginning to cut down on the narcissistic-ness," he added, hoping that would diffuse the situation.

Clearly Demi was not calmed down by this, and continued to rage all through dinner, when she and the others headed to the common room to study, up till she was the only one awake in the girl's dormitory. She dodged a pillow that Marlene, having begun to be on good terms with Demi, had lobbed at Demi's head, "Shut the bloody hell up! We have a Potions test tomorrow," Marlene's irritable voice said.

All throughout the month of October, one person found themselves constantly at the mercy of the marauders; Severus. Lily had just lost her temper with James once more, and was about to storm up the steps of the girl's dormitory. "I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT YOU WOULD DO THAT TO HIM! JUST BECAUSE HE'S PALE, DOES NOT MEAN THAT HE IS A BLANK CANVAS!" She shrieked, causing James, and by default Sirius to cower under her rage. The two boys had cornered Severus outside their Herbology class, and using the new information they'd gathered from Muggle Studies, had managed to use an assortment of complicated spells (courtesy of Charms class) and painted a wonderful replica of the Mona Lisa perfectly on Severus' face.

While the pair were receiving detention from Professor Sprout, who'd seen what they'd done upon exiting Greenhouse 3, they were more afraid of Lily than the grubby-looking witch.

James, however, was the first one to recover from getting yelled at by Lily, who'd just made it up two steps of the Girl's staircase, "Now will this hinder my attempts to ask you out Evans?" James asked, smirking at the back of Lily's head. She walked up the stairs her head held high, only pausing to flip James the bird.

Marlene followed behind and looked at James, "And I used to have soo much respect for you. But all you've been doing is bullying her friend." She tutted before ascending the stairs as well. Kiaria and Alice just shook their head's at James' thick-headedness, while Demi tried to make him see reason.

"The only reason she doesn't want to go out with you is beacause you're a bit arrogant and a bully. Maybe if you just humbled yourself-," she was cut off by Sirius' bark-like laugh.

"You think _James_ is a bully?" he asked her, looking at her as though she were insane for even suggesting such a thing. "Have you met Snivellus? He's up to his eyeballs in the Dark Arts. The boy knew more dark curses in first year, than all the seventh-years combined."

James cut in, "Even with him being the one who told Evans she was a witch, and helped her through her problems with her sister, I will never understand how she is **still** friends with him." He shook his head in disbelief, "Mental, I'm telling you."

The others carried on with their work, as they did every night. They were beginning to wish for the year to end, especially Sirius, which scared him. The prospect of wanting to go back home was a bit strange to him.

Around eleven or twelve (it was hard to differentiate at this point), Demi went on another one of her strolls, casting one of her disillusionment charms on herself and Remus who joined her, knowing that it would be less of a deal if she was seen being accompanied by a prefect, than wandering around alone.

They were wandering around the fifth floor, and Remus was just in the middle of telling Demi about his last date with Nirvana, which involved a lot of questions about the new scars Remus had acquired over the most recent new moon. They were just about to head back to the staircase and go up to Gryffindor tower, when Demi noticed a dark-haired boy lurking in the corridor ahead. Going to investigate, Remus went nearer and sighed upon seeing who it was, "Its Jeremiah," he said, to Demi, who'd come along with him.

She quickly removed the disillusionment charm from herself and Remus and ran up to her boyfriend, planting a kiss on his lips, like she usually did. While they were pretending to act all couple-y in front of the boys, she couldn't help but to continue the charade as the weeks passed. She actually found herself rather enjoying the relationship, more than she usually did. "What are you doing out and about this late at night?" she asked, as he wrapped his arms around her.

He looked extremely tired and worn, but he managed to give her a weak smile, "I was in the library, just finishing some NEWT practice papers. Thought a stroll might be nice, to get the blood flowing and the thoughts moving."

She nodded, "doing the exact same thing. I'll see you tomorrow morning," she said, giving him a quick hug and watching as he quickly hurried away past Remus and down the corridor, where he turned left. Demi re-applied the charm and the pair began heading back to the common room. "He seemed sort of odd to me," Demi said. "I've never seen him jump like that. And he seemed kind of fidget-y as well." They continued to talk about this until they reached the tower, where they resumed their homework.

Finally there was a silver lining on the 26th of October, when the first Quidditch match of the season was about to occur. Slytherins were keeping their mouth shut ("Seems like they've learnt their lesson" Sirius said, eyeing his brother Regulus from the other side of the hall) after losing all of the prior year's matches against Gryffindor dismally.

Marlene was looking forward to finally seeing an inter-house match, which she'd been longing to do for years. She was one of the first on the Gryffindor side of the stands, wearing her Gryffindor scarf with pride. All the other houses began to trickle in and soon there was a huge glimmer of red and gold in the all over the right side of the stands where the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs were all showing their support for the Gryffindor team. There was a small little pool of silver and green in the far right, were the Slytherins were booing as Wood lead the team to the middle of the pitch. This was drowned out by the cheers of everyone else.

He turned to the others before they shook hands with the Slytherin captain Andrew Parkinson. "We've been training for four days a week. We've got a title, we've got a strategy," here he paused giving them all hard looks, "and we've got the best- ruddy – team this school's ever had." They all cheered before mounting their broomsticks and flew into the air, doing a quick lap around the pitch before Wood shook Parkinson's hand, which by the looks of it was getting crushed.

James looked down at the commentator's spot and saw none other than Amos Diggory at the microphone. "Well hello people of Hogwarts," his booming voice wafted across the pitch. "Today I am proud to commentate for the first Quidditch match of the season; Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. To our left we have the Slytherin team; Captain Parkinson, Mulciber, Avery, Wilkes, Goyle, Carrow, and Travers." The seven Slytherins did a lap around the pitch, waving and taunting the Gryffindors, as they took their positions. "And on our right" said Amos, where the noise was drowning out his voice, "We have Captain Wood, Lieks, Verdana, Potter, Black, Hopkirk and Dumbledore." The Gryffindors took their positions, and waited for Madam Hooch to release the Quaffle, Bludgers, and Snitch, which flew into the air, and out of sight. Her whistle blew and the match began.

"AND WE'RE OFF! POTTER WITH THE QUAFFLE, HE TAKES IT DOWN TO SLYTHERIN, AND-OHH, WELL AIMED BLUDGER COURTESY OF GOYLE MAKES POTTER DROP THE QUAFFLE. WILKES TAKES IT BACK, AIMS AND . . . SLYTHERIN SCORE! THEY LEAD GRYFFINDOR 10 TO O." A huge cheer was heard from the left, but was quickly drowned out by boos from the rest of the stadium.

"AND WE'RE BACK AGAIN, VERDANA WITH THE QUAFFLE, LOOK OUT AVERY'S COMING FOR YOU. AND HE'S OUT, KNOCKED TO THE GROUND BY A BLUDGER FROM BLACK. SHE TAKES AIM, AND SCORES. THE GAME IS TIED! YOU'VE GOT TO TRY HARDER THAN THAT MULCIBER!" The Slytherin keeper made a violent hand gesture towards Verdana, who responded with her own, much to the amusement of the spectators. "A NASTY EXCHANGE BETWEEN THE SLYTHERIN KEEPER AND THE GRYFFINDOR CHASER. WONDER WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT! AND NOW WE'RE BACK TO THE CENTRE OF THE PITCH, WHERE VERDANA'S CAUGHT A NASTY BLUDGER FROM AVERY, WHICH HAS BROUGHT THE CHASER DOWN. THIS IS TURNING INTO A NASTY GAME. OH, WHATS'S THAT? IT SEEMS LIKE DUMBLEDORE HAS SEEN SOMETHING TRAVERS HASN'T. SHE DIVES DOWN, WEAVING HER WAY, WHILE POTTER SCORES, SECURING ANTOEHR TEN FOR GRYFFINDOR. DUMBLEDORE'S CUTTING HERSELF A PATH HERE" he said, as Demi caused the wave of Slytheirn players to scatter as she flew by, hovering twenty feet above the ground.

The snitch was three feet away, two feet, one, suddenly, she felt her broom slow down as she neared. "Come on," she muttered, turning to see what was going on behind her. She saw Travers holding on to the bottom of her broom, slowing her down. Demi groaned in anger, and placed one foot roughly on his face, pushing herself off her broom, and causing her to fly a few feet forward. Her fingers managed to close around the snitch, and sighed with relief as she fell and hit the ground.

"AND GRYFFINDOR WIN, 170 TO 10, LEAVING SLYTHEIRN IN THE DUST. OOH, THEY DON'T SEEM TOO HAPPY ABOUT THIS," Amos said, as the Slytherins landed, tossing their brooms and bats onto the ground in anger.

Demi sighed laying on the ground, before being pulled up by Hopkirk and Wood, "You alright?" they asked, and she nodded, the snitch still clutched in her hand.

"That was close, and a pretty quick match," Wood said, as they trooped off to the castle to celebrate.

"Wasn't a particularly fast snitch," Demi replied, as they pushed open the door and headed up the stairs. James and Sirius took a detour, going down to the kitchen to nick some food for the party.

The other four players continued in silence, saving the rest of their energy for the party that would most likely last into the morning. They entered a common room that was already prepped for a party, banners hanging round the room, streamers littered the ground, and the students were cheering as they entered. They were clapped on the back, given hugs, and praised as they headed up to shower and change.

Demi and Kiaria reappeared downstairs, hair sopping wet, wearing their Gryffindor Quidditch team shirts and jeans. Sirius and James had already placed the food on the table, showered, and were sitting on the sofas with the other fifth years ( save for Lily who was in the common room studying and keeping her distance from James, who she vowed to kill).

"Ah, it feels so nice to be doing something other than homework," Marlene said, sipping on a bottle of butterbeer. "Is this what it's always like?" she asked, nodding over to the huge crowd behind her, who were chatting eagerly, waiting for the next game (November 11th) and doing a play-by-play of the game for those that had missed minor details.

Suddenly the room fell silent as Wood stood up, clinking his spoon to his goblet, waiting for everyone's attention. "Let's hear a round of applause for the rest of the team," he said, to which the entire room practically shook while everyone cheered, "and for an amazing match, well done, well done." He paused before continuing, "Now, we may have one this match, but we're playing Ravenclaw next and they won't be so forgiving, especially with what happened in the final match." The entire room filled with muttering as students began getting slightly concerned, "But let us not forget that we have an amazing team which is why we will be having several more celebrations as the year goes on. So ladies and gentlemen, please join me, for tonight we dine in VICTORY!"

Another huge cheer erupted as the crowd of Gryffindors headed towards the food. "Looks like we might need to get some more," Sirius muttered to James, who nodded, eyebrows raised.

"Man they can eat," he replied.

And so the night went on, until 2 am, which is when McGonagall barged into the common room, yelling at all of them and confiscating the radio and food. "Honestly, act with some regard for others," she said, storming out of the room, her dressing gown billowing behind her.

"Goodnight Minnie!" Sirius yelled, before the portrait door closed, causing the entire crowd to laugh as they all made their way up to bed.

The next few days passed as the euphoria of the match wore off. Many of the students were getting slightly excited, as the Hallowe'en feast approached, and the Marauders along with Demi, found themselves in the Room of Requirement once more, having just practiced their animagi transformations, planning another school-wide prank.

"Well we already did the eyes and the arms," Remus reminded them, "so what do we do now."

"I dunno, we could always just vanish them," said James, who'd managed to vanish a kitten in their last Transfiguration class.

"Yeah, but these are people at the end of the day, despite the fact that they are slimy, slithering snakes . . ." Sirius muttered.

Peter clapped his hands enthusiastically, "Why don't we drop a bunch of snakes on them?" he said. The others turned to face him their faces blank.

Suddenly James broke into a maniacal grin, "Pete, that is pure genius. I'm so proud!" He patted the plump boy on the back before frowning for a moment, "But how do we get the snakes?"

Peter shook his head, "Not real ones, we could get in serious, serious trouble for that. But how about fake ones, and we can just coat them with some sort of slime, to make them look squirmy and real."

The others considered this, "We could just transfigure stuff to make the snakes, or maybe the room could provide some for us . . ." Demi said, and almost instantaneously a box of rubber snakes appeared in the centre of the room.

Sirius looked ecstatic, "I LOVE this room," said, closing his eyes. "Gimme food, gimmie food . . ." he muttered aloud, and opened his eyes, to a foodless environment. "Answered Peter's wish, he muttered looking completely annoyed, crossing his arms.

Demi and Remus laughed at their friend's stupidity, "the room can't provide you with food," Demi explained, "It isn't possible."

"What do you mean it isn't possible, this is Magic! Anything should be possible," James said, nudging Peter and Sirius.

Remus sighed, and exchanged an exasperated look with Demi, "food is the first of the five Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfi-," he was cut off by Sirius.

"Oh, speak English, can't you?" he said annoyed.

Remus looked as though he were ready to throttle Sirius. His temper had begun to run short, what with his prefect duties ("dealing with bloody idiots," as he called it after a particularly nasty day dealing with first years), homework, revision, and monthly transformations. He stood up, straightened his cardigan and headed to the door.

"Someone's a bit moody," James grumbled, leaning back a little.

"Moody moony" Sirius said, causing the others to snigger. "That's it, Sirius said, "I'm calling him 'Moony'."

"I suppose you all ought to have nicknames, what with calling yourselves 'The Marauders' and everything," Demi said.

"And what about you?" James asked, looking at her "Or are you not a Marauder?"

"No, I'm a honourary Marauder," she said, "You four are the real ones. And besides, I have a nickname, well several actually," she said thoughtfully.

"What nicknames have you got?" Sirius asked, looking interested.

Demi smiled before thinking, "Um, okay let's see; Demitria, Demi, Love (here she looked at Sirius, who looked pleased with himself), Bluebird by Uncle Aberforth, Pancake, Snuffles from Lily when I get sick, Blueberry, and Sweetcheeks," she finished.

"Who calls you 'pancake,' 'blueberry', and 'sweetcheeks'?" Sirius asked, looking curious.

"Jeremiah," she replied. "There are more, but those are embarrassing."

Peter looked confused, "Wait, your name is a nickname?"

"What 'Demitria'?" she clarified, and Peter nodded, "yeah, 'Demitria is my middle name. My first name is Ariana, but Aberforth refused to use it, and after all these years, 'Demitria' was what stuck. I don't know my real name, like what my parents named me when I was born. But I did find out some other things."

"Like what?" Peter asked. Demi had already explained to the others, about her parents, which earned her some unwanted sympathy. But they didn't realize she'd found out some more stuff concerning her past.

"I managed to get down into the ministry of magic, and find a list of all the witches and wizards born in Great Britain. I found out my birthday as well, it was the same day that I'd gotten my letter to Hogwarts," she explained. "Apparently the owl that sent it got lost, so they had to send another, and by the time they did, it was Christmas, which was why Dumbledore thought that was my birthday." She paused to let the information sink in, "What I really found out, was that my actual birth date is on the eleventh of November 1960."

The guys sat there in silence, but James was the first to speak, "So in actuality, I'm older than you."

Demi let that register, "yeah, yeah you are."

He jumped up and cheered, "Which means I have older sibling rights."

Demi laughed, "What are 'older sibling rights'?"

James looked proud of himself, for knowing something she didn't, "'Older sibling rights' give me the power to tell you what to do. Like who to be friends with, who to date, et cetera." He paused, looking thrilled, "which means I can tell you that you have to break up with Golde."

Demi turned serious very quickly, pulling out her wand and pointing it at James, "Make me," she said daringly.

James stammered for a moment before saying, "Uh, you know what, let's go back to the nicknames."

Just then, the door swung open and Remus wandered back in, gnawing on a bar of Honeydukes chocolate, he looked at the others, who looked back at him in confusion. "What?" he asked, taking another bite and sitting down.

They quickly filled him in, telling him about Demi's birthday, to which he congratulated her on solving the mystery that was her life. But he was less thrilled about his nickname. "'Mooney'?" he asked, looking positively confused. "We might as well get a neon sign that reads 'werewolf over here' with an arrow."

"What's neon sign?" Peter asked curiously to which Remus let out an exasperated sigh.

"The name has been chosen, and you have been christened 'Moony of the Marauaders'," Sirius said in a mystical tone.

Remus turned to face him, "Fine then. I'm calling you 'Padfoot'."

Sirius looked taken aback, while the others laughed, "What the bloody hell is a 'Padfoot'?" he asked.

"Your feet make a padding sound when you're in your animagus form," James said, nodding at Remus, "Good choice mate," he turned to face Sirius, "You have been christened 'Padfoot of the Marauders.'"

"Whatever . . . Prongs," said Sirius, pointing to James, who looked amused by his new name. "You are 'Prongs of the Marauders.'"

"What about me?" Peter asked, raising his and doing a little dance in his seat, "what's my nickname?"

The other three boys and Demi exchanged looks before turning back to him and saying, "'Wormtail of the Marauders.'"

The rest of the month passed in monotony, if you didn't count the fact that the new nicknames of the Marauders had caused them all to gain a new level of popularity. While Demi was often seen as the only female Marauder, the other four boys were all on a whole new level of popularity. Popularity that caused Severus to constantly be seething every time he saw James or Sirius, which caused the boys to take more pride in their names. The origin of the names was also a popular topic, but one that did not peak the interest of Lily, who thought the entire idea was stupid and childish.

The Hallowe'en feast was finally upon them, and Marlene had never seen anything quite like it before. The hall was covered with orange and black streamers, while jack-o-lanters were suspended in the air, looking particularly spooky when one factored in the story sky above. What they didn't know was that the pumpkins hanging over the Slytherin table held more than just candles. Slytherins looked in their cups, food, and underneath the tables and chairs before taking their seats. Dumbledore chuckled at their paranoia as he began his speech. "Well a happy Hallowe'en to you all. I do not wish to delay the enjoyment of this most magnificent feast, so dig in."

Soon everyone, including the Slytherins were enjoying themselves. It wasn't until dessert that Dumbledore sprang a little surprise on them all. A few dozen dancing skeletons emerged from the two doors on either side of the staff table, and began to do a series of acrobatics, which ensnared the attention of all the students. James was the first to shake himself out of this reverie and tap the others on the shoulder, "Moony, Padfoot, Wormtail, Demi, come on, now is the best time, no one's looking at us."

They all nodded and slid their wands out of their robes, keeping them concealed. They each took aim at the larger pumpkins, which they'd asked Hagrid to borrow from his pumpkin patch (he was planning on tossing them, as they were not big enough for décor around the hall. Suddenly, several pumpkins over the Slytherin table exploded, bathing the occupants of the entire table with slimy-. . ."

"SNAKES!" screamed a sixth year girl, who shot out of her seat and brushed the slime and rubber snakes off of them. A whole bunch of them began to scream as well, and the skeletons, who'd stopped their act to watch, were laughing along with the rest of the school.

"Well done Padfoot," said James, patting Remus on the back.

"Excellent aim Mooney," Sirius said, whooping along with the others.

"Well done Prongs," Demi added cheering.

After the Slytherins had realized the snakes were fake, they all turned to face the Gryffindor table, "It was them," said a male second year, pointing at James, who feigned an innocent look.

"I know it was my brother," Regulus said darkly, sneering at Sirius.

"I'm not your brother, I'm adopted. You just wish I was your brother," Sirius said slowly, causing the Gryffindors to laugh.

Dumbledore chucked, "While this was highly entertaining of you boys, and Demitria, I am afraid that this warrants a week's worth of detentions, right Minerva?" he asked, turning to McGonagall, who was torn between the desire to scold and the need to laugh.

She shook her head, "After all these incidents over the past two months, I have no choice but to give you a punishment fit for your actions. You five are banned from the rest of the Hogsmeade trips."

The Marauders looked absolutely outraged and sulked throughout the rest of the feast and half an hour later, had gone up to the common room and called it a night, looking annoyed by the loss of their freedom to visit the village, the only thing besides Quidditch that gave them joy.


	7. Fights, Frights, Maps and Foreshadowing

While the next week of school passed in a haze of anger an homework (as all the weeks did), the boys found themselves looking quite depressed as the date of the next Hosgmeade visit was posted. However, if any of them wanted to complain, it was the only one who had something to be upset about. "I can't believe that they decided to put it on the eleventh," Demi said, looking completely exasperated, as she tried to.

Charms, was one of the only classes where talking was fine, as they were all attempting to mend a broken chair in groups. She, Sirius, and James were all fairing spell at the chair lazily. So far, they'd all managed to do it successfully and were currently sitting on the floor, their backs resting on the wall of the room. They watched in silence as Severus successfully reattached the leg to a small table.

James made a disgusted noise, eyeing the Slytherin with dislike, "Bloody Snivellus. It's his fault we can't go out anywhere on your birthday."

Demi raised an eyebrow, "Actually, it was all of us who made that decision. Well, us and Remus." Remus, who was currently curled up in the Shrieking Shack, as it had come to be called by the other students.

"Al least he's in Hogsmeade," James muttered, to which Sirius and Demi shot him a glare.

"He's not exactly frolicking around picking flowers out there, now is he?" Sirius said scathingly, causing James to blush deeply, and mutter 'Sorry.'

It wasn't until the eleventh had arrived, and after spending a few hours with Lily, Kiaria, Frank, Marlene, and Alice, who'd given her, among other things, a new pair of gloves for Quidditch, a new hairbrush, as her old one had broken in her hair a few days prior, a copy of _The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales_ (form the Marauders), and a _Queen: News of the World_ tour shirt (courtesy of Jeremiah). She tucked these away in her trunk, as she and the other Marauders left the common room (which was filled with first, second, and seventh years) and wandered around an empty castle.

While there was the odd students wandering the corridors, the five were seemingly alone. They wandered down to the Defence classroom, when Sirius had an idea. "Do you think there are any passageways to Hogsmeade?" he asked Demi, who frowned as she thought.

"There might be. There is the one on the fourth floor, behind the mirror, which we all know about, but other than that, I really don't know," she replied.

Remus looked thoughtful for a moment, "You know what this school needs?" he asked the others, who shook their heads. "A map," he answered, smiling as he spoke. The others gave him a confused look, as Peter asked what good a map of the castle would do. "Well, imagine if we knew where all the school's secret passages were. And we could sue them to help us in our-ehem- schemes? How useful of an object would that be?" he asked.

James, Demi, and Sirius exchanged smirks, while Peter still looked confused as ever. "But what use would a map be? Yeah, we know where all the passageways are, but we'd physically have to be there to see if it was safe to use," Sirius pointed out.

Demi suddenly clapped her hands together, excitedly, "I know how to solve that!" She said excitedly as she ran down the corridor and to the left; towards the direction of the library. The boys waited for a moment, before heading down the corridor as well, which was empty.

They quickly sped up, down the stairs and to the left. "Jesus, she's quick," James muttered as he and the others sped up more. They finally reached the library, where upon opening the door, they were shushed by Madam Pince. "Where is she?" he asked, tiptoeing to see over some of the shelves.

Remus and Sirius sniggered, as their midget of a friend tried to look over ten feet tall shelves. "Mate, we could get you the longest ladder in the world and it wouldn't make a difference," Sirius said laughing.

Suddenly, Demi shot out of one of the back aisles and bounded towards them, "I've got it; the Homonculous Charm. If we place it on the map, it'll show us where every person-living or dead- is while in the borders of the map." She paused as the boys looked excited, "the only problem is, it'll show where you are regardless of any concealments you place upon yourself."

"So that means if I were wearing the cloak, I'd still be visible," James muttered.

"Yes, but it isn't only that. It means if we were-," here she lowered her voice so the others had to lean in, "-in our animagi forms, we'd still be labeled, and that goes for polyjuice and disillusionment charms as well."

The others looked slightly annoyed before nodding, "Well, there's no use in complaining about something we can't change," Remus said. He turned to the others, as they exited the library, "So now what? Are you guys in?" he asked.

The other four nodded before saying, "Well it's not like we have anything better to do." They continued to sweep the castle for any other passages, and by the end of the day, they'd only found one other, behind the statue of the hump-back witch, by the Defence class.

Demi peered down the hole, squinting, "It goes to Hogsmeade. I know it." She straightened up, and faced the others, who were in shock.

"How can you tell?" James asked, curiously.

"It leads in that direction," she replied, tapping the hump with her wand, causing it to close.

They headed back up to the common room, skipping dinner as they were too excited by the prospect of creating the map to eat. They entered the room which- thankfully- was empty. Remus ran up to the boy's dormitory and quickly returned holding an enormous piece of parchment. He laid it out I front of them, on the table in front of the fire. "I was going to use this for my Astronomy charts, but this is far more important," he explained as he too sat cross-legged on one side of the table. He looked at Demi, who smirked, "do you want to go first?" he asked, smirking.

The other three boys looked at her, as she pulled out her wand. She closed her eyes, and murmured under her breath, and the boys watched in shock and amazement as a river of ink poured out from the tip, and was sprawling across the parchment.

Minute after minute went by and soon, the four boys realized what was happening. Demi was using all of her thoughts, and time that she'd spent wandering the castle in her youth, and pouring those same memoires into the map. They watched as the lines began to intersect, and soon, there was a huge maze, covering every inch of the map.

Slowly Demi opened her eyes, and looked at the parchment, "Did it work?" She asked Remus who nodded fervently.

"Amazing," James muttered, running a hand over the lines, which luckily had dried. He looked back to Demi, "What about the passageways?" he asked, "and anything else we find?"

Demi yawned before looking at James, "We can add anything else we find to the map, and it's highly unlikely that the few passages, shortcuts, and the room of requirement are the only ones in the castle."

The others nodded, "And the spell to make the people appear?" Sirius asked, as he gazed over the parchment.

Demi gave another jaw-breaking yawn before muttering another spell. Suddenly, as though hundreds of drops of ink had splattered on the map, names began to bloom across the pages. Right now, they could see themselves the few students wandering the school, and the rest of the students in the Hall for dinner.

She stood up slowly, and sighed, "Our best bet would be to clear the map when we're done using it. Otherwise anyone could read it. I'd spend some time finding a spell that could do that, and put a password on it, like we have with the Fat Lady. It'll protect us if this falls into the wrong hands." She made her way up to her staircase, as the spells had drained much of her energy.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked, looking up at her, biting his nails.

Demi shot him a glare, "imagine what would happen if Severus got ahold of this and saw us sneaking around, or saw Remus going through the Whomping Willow to the shack?" she asked him, her eyebrows raised.

The others nodded, and glanced down at the map, which showed a huge herd of Gryffindors making their way back to the common room. Remus folded the map up and shoved it into his inner robes. Demi had already headed back up to sleep, and the four boys quickly settled themselves around the fire, books out, pretending to study.

While a small amount of people didn't take notice to the fact that the four of them were being unusually quiet, Lily was the first to accuse them of doing something. "What are you planning now?" she asked them sharply, glaring at them.

While Remus continued to read (as he was actually interested in _Goshawk's Guide to Herbology_ ), James and Sirius feigned innocence. "Whatever do you mean Evans?" James asked, as though he'd never been one to cause her great distress.

"Oh, you know exactly what I mean Potter" Lily said, in an accusing tone. "You've been ever so rude to Sev and you don't even have a good reason for it!" she yelled.

James, who was tired of craning his neck to look at Lily, got up and pulled an angry face, "Wait, you think I don't have a good reason? He's practically a death eater, but you can't seem to see past his charade! I might be arrogant, but at least I'll admit to it. Lord knows what he's doing behind your back with his mini-Death Eater friends," James paused to take a breath.

The entire common room had fallen silent, and were now watching the row between the two fifth years. Remus sighed, before closing his book, "Sit down James," he said, no wavering in his calm demeanor.

Lily's face had gone as red as her hair, and her voice quivered as she spoke, "Sev wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone. He's the nicest person I've ever met. And unlike you, he doesn't resort to bullying to solve problems."

James' eyes widened in disbelief as his hands, which had been massing his hair up before, were slowly pulling the strands by the roots. "Oh you've got to be kidding me Evans. Surely you're not that stupid."

The entire common room, including Demi (who'd come down to see what the racket was) gasped. While James, Remus, Sirius, and Demi were the some of the smartest kids in the year, the four (well, not so much Remus and Demi) had a reputation for being quite rude to those they despised, of which Severus was proof. However, Lily, despite the fact that she was a muggleborn, had made a reputation for herself as not only one of the smartest faces, but kindest, able to find the good in everyone- save for Potter and Black.

Lily was now beyond anger, and Marlene who'd always thought of Lily as sweet-tempered, was slowly backing away from the redhead, who advanced on James, her wand drawn, completely forgetting about the 'no dueling' rule. She pointed it at James' face, which was curled up in a smirk. "If you so much as look at Severus the wrong way ever again, I swear I will curse you so badly, you won't be able to think, let alone breathe."

Demi who was one of the first to recover from the shock, walked over to Lily and forced the girl to put the wand away. "Do you still want to keep that prefects badge, because if you do, I'd put it away," she said calmly. Lily shot James another disgusted look before heading up the girl's staircase. A moment later they heard the door at the top slam shut.

James let out an exasperated sigh, "honestly thinks a lot of herself that one," he said to Sirius, who didn't respond.

Demi turned to face James, "you complete and utter idiot James Potter!" she whispered loudly at him. James looked at Demi and shrugged, raising his eyebrows in a gesture that said _it's not my fault_. "I can't believe you would talk to Lils like that. Yeah sure, she's friends with a Slytherin, but that doesn't mean that she's got issues! You might be right about Severus," and before James could interrupt, she'd cast the silencing charm on him, " _might"_ she said, placing more emphasis on the word. "But that doesn't mean that you are. You can tell her as much as you like, but at the end of the day, she has to see it to believe it. She will not take the word of a person who has caused her so much suffering." At these words James looked shocked and shook his head in disbelief, and angry look on his face. "Yes James, suffering. Her friendship with Severus is already under so much strain, and this isn't going to help." She paused for a breath before continuing, "So if you want to help her keep the one friend she has, I'd stop with the pranks on Severus. But if you want to keep acting like a blithering idiot, be my guest."

She quickly removed the charm, and headed to the stairs, but James had already spoken, "You're one to talk, hypocrite!" he yelled loudly, causing the common room (which had gone back to being loud) to fall silent once more. "Been pulling pranks with us, and the minute we do some without you, you come back around to lecture us."

Demi let out a derisive laugh, "I am not a hypocrite, and I sure as hell am not jealous about you pulling pranks on Severus. I might pull a few on the Slytherins as a whole, but I'm not singling out people and making their lives miserable."

James laughed back, "You're a fool! You are singling people out! The bloody Slytherins! Or did you forget about the eyeballs, and the arms, and the snakes?"

James was too in to his fight with Demi, to notice that everyone in the room had backed up from the witch. Demi was giving James a face that practically screamed 'murder,' which he noticed just in time to back away from her. She advanced backing him up against the wall, her wand still tucked in her pocket. James had his back against the wall between the two staircases, and Demi was gaining. "What?" he asked, "you going to hit me?" he added, grinning cockily and looking at the shorter girl in amusement.

Demi grabbed a fistful of James' robes and lifted him into the air, slamming him against the wall, her eyes completely black, even the whites. James tried to force himself not to look into them, but found it quite hard to resist. It was something he would regret doing for the rest of his life.

 _He was completely swallowed whole, and submerged into his deepest darkest fears. The first was watching as a pair of caskets were lowered into the ground. He looked up at the tombstone which read "Jack and Amie Potter." Then he looked a few feet to his right and saw another pair of caskets, except they were open. He caught a glimpse of the pair and his blood ran cold, as he looked at himself, slightly older and the woman next to him, with flaming red hair, "Lily," he whispered. Then he was transported to another scene, a young boy roughly around his age was fighting Voldemort, in another graveyard. James watched as the boy, whose wand was connected to Voldemort's was attempting to maintain the connection. James thought the boy looked familiar. He had jet black hair, which grew (much like James' own) all over the place. He was short, with a thin face, and round glasses. He was practically a spitting image of James except for two things; a thin scar on his forehead, shaped like a bolt of lightning, and his eyes, for they were an almond shape, and startling green._

 _It was his son._

" _Harry," James muttered, not knowing how he knew his future son's name. . . ._

His eyes flew open and the familiar scene of the common room met them. Demi still had him against the wall, and immediately let go of him. James' knees were too weak to support him, as he collapsed to the ground, his head in his hands.

Demi bent down, her eyes back to normal, and widened in concern. "What did you see?" she asked, looking at him with regret.

James managed to push himself up, his legs still shaking. Demi offered him a hand, but he slapped it away. "Get away from me," he said, looking up at her in fright. "Just stay away from me," he said, pushing past Sirius as he stumbled out of the portrait door.

Sirius whipped around to face Demi, who was close to tears, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?" He screamed pointing at the portrait door, which had just swung shut.

Demi's eyes swam with tears, "I-I-I don't kn-know," she stammered, backing away from Sirius, who was in one of the worst rages she'd ever seen. She turned to the girl's staircase and saw Marlene and the other students back away from her, looking afraid. She let out a small whimper before dashing up the stairs and into the girl's dormitory, where she promptly fell on her bed, crying.

She hadn't noticed, but Lily, who'd also been crying walked over to Demi's bed tentatively. She sat down on the edge, patting Demi's head. "Thanks for standing up for me," she said, as Demi looked up, her puffy black eyes, meeting Lily's swollen green ones.

"Anytime," Demi said between tears, and the pair quickly embraced, leaning one another's shoulders for support.

"What happened," Lily asked, "Why was Sirius yelling at you?"

Demi tried to explain that she'd gotten physical with James. "I had him against the wall, and all of a sudden, I saw his face get all scared, his eyes dilate, and his breathing quicken, so I let him go. Then he told me to leave him alone and ran out the door. That's when Sirius yelled at me."

Lily was quiet for a moment, "I'm sorry," she said, and the pair began to wipe their tears. "What are you going to do now?"

Demi sniffled slightly before saying, "I'll talk to James during Quidditch practice tomorrow." With that, Lily hopped off of the other girl's bed and onto her own, lying down and pulling the sheets over her. Demi followed suit and tried to get to sleep, but the pair ended up spending the entire night awake, crying.

 _Meanwhile in the Common Room. . ._

"She had no right to get angry at James," Sirius said, pacing back and forth, looking completely annoyed and riled up, as he had been for the past twenty minutes. "Doesn't have any common sense to leave things between the people they concern."

Remus snorted, "You're one to speak. You yelled at Demi even though whatever happened was between her and James." At these words the portrait door swung open, and James wandered in, looking a lot calmer than before, yet there was a change in his attitude. While he'd normally be sitting down agreeing with Sirius after a fight, he seemed more subdued, as though his thoughts were elsewhere. It took three tries of yelling his name for Remus to get his attention, "James, are you okay?" he asked, looking extremely concerned for his best friend's behaviour.

James' head lifted slightly and the glazed look in his eyes broke, "Uh- yeah, yeah 'm fine," he said.

"What'd she do?" Sirius asked, sitting on the table across for James, his hands twisting up, and his face much like Remus'.

James sighed, "I dunno. She had me against that wall and it was like, all my fears flashed before my eyes. My parents dying. Me dying. Everything," James finished. He didn't tell them about seeing his son, knowing that they'd all think he was mad, and try to force him to go to Dumbledore. Then there was the fact that I was just too private of a thing to share, as well as the fact that he didn't fully understand what he'd seen.

"That's impossible," Remus said, "she had you there for a second. And it was probably just your imagination. There's no way a person could do that to you. Such spells just don't exist."

They spent the rest of the night trying to finish their homework, which James found easy to do, as it kept his mind off of what he'd seen. It wasn't until he was heading to bed that he felt the pure strain of what he had witnessed, and spent the entire night wondering what had happened to him back there.

Word of the fight between James, Lily, and Demi had spread through the school like wildfire. Everyone who was in the common room that night could be heard re-telling versions of the story in the hallways between classes. Some had stuck to what had actually happened, while others said that Lily had jinxed James with a curse that rendered him unable to sit for a week, and Demi had punched James in face, giving him a black eye.

However, the entirety of the situation had put a strain on the fifth years. James, Sirius, and Peter were no longer talking to Demi, while Remus who maintained his relationship with Demi was completely understanding of why she'd done what she'd done. Lily, who was now being ignored by James, Peter and Sirius as well (not that she was complaining) now spent all her time in the library or in class with Severus, only parting from him when they were eating in the Hall. Marlene, who'd always been slightly afraid of Demi, was now reluctant to be anywhere near the girl, and spent all her time in the company of Kiaria, Frank, and Alice, who were still talking to Demi as though everything were normal.

Everyone was doing an amazing job at not talking to one another, until the next evening's Quidditch practice. Wood, along with Sherrie and Adam had been there the night of the fight and while they'd seen the severity of the argument, they didn't think it would impact the team as badly as it did.

After about twenty minutes, Wood called a time out, and the team soared to the ground, as they huddled. "So" said Wood, his face calm, but a hint of annoyance in his tone, "my seeker is not talking to my beater or my chaser, and vice versa." He scratched his chin before shrugging, "this will helpful . . . TO THE BLOODY HUFFLEPUFFS!" He glared at the three of them, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT PROBLEMS YOU THREE HAVE BETWEEN ONE ANOTHER, BUT I AM NOT- REPEAT- AM NOT GOING TO CAOCH A TEAM, WHERE THERE IS NO TEAM SPIRIT!" He took a breath and a sip of water from the bottle Sherrie passed him. "Now," he said calmly, "just suck up whatever issues you three have so we can WIN THE F****** CUP!" he yelled, stalking away from the group to get the Quidditch supplies.

Sherrie, Adam, and Kiaria exchanged looks before moving away, to give the other three space. Demi took a breath before turning to James, "Look, I don't want to-," but James held up a hand to stop her from talking.

"I know you're sorry, and I forgive you. But let's not try and push it that far ever again. Deal?" he said, sticking out a hand, which Demi shook gratefully.

"I really am sorry James! I don't know what came over me, and I swear I will try to keep my temper down and my nose out of everyone's business," she said, looking at Sirius she continued, "and I don't know what I did. I really don't. It was like when you're a kid and you do magic when you've a strong emotion. I couldn't control it," she finished.

Sirius looked at her, his face unreadable, before sighing, "Fine, just don't push your luck, love."

She nodded and smiled, before hopping on her broom. After that, the practice went quite well, and they were keen for the next day's match (Ravenclaw versus Slytherin) and Demi had just told them, she would be commentating, as Amos would be playing in the match.

"I can't wait to hear this," Sirius said to James, who he could hardly see over the stack of homework they hadn't done over the past week and a half.

James stuck his head over the top of the pile, smiling mischievously, "I may have forgiven her, but it's not that easy. She thinks all I do is prank Severus, well she'd better watch out."


	8. SlugClub and Seductiveness

**I just wanted to clarify a mistake I made in the last chapter. I wrote that Demi's actual birthday is on the 11** **th** **of November, and that would be the youngest out of herself and James. I was thinking about that today, and realized that if her birthday was on the 11** **th** **of November, 1960, then she would be in her sixth year! I know that some of you probably noticed that (and if not, that's great), but because it's already been written and worked into the plot, I am just going to leave it the way it is. And for those of you who are wondering what Demi's age is, she is sixteen now.**

The Quidditch pitch was filled with noise as the Ravenclaw versus Slytherin match began. While the rest of the Gryffindors (save for Lily who was in the castle, studying for tomorrow's Potions test) were huddled together attempting to keep themselves as warm as possible in chilly November air, they could just make out Demi sitting in the commentator's box wearing a thin long sleeve shirt and her Gryffindor scarf. "WELCOME ALL, TO THE NEXT QUIDDITCH MATCH OF THE SEASON; RAVENCLAW VERSUS SLYTHERIN!" She paused as cheers emitted from the blue side and the green sides of the stadium. "WHILE RAVENCLAW HAS SOME CATCHING UP TO DO, THE SLYTHERINS STAND AT 10 POINTS. NOT MUCH OF A HEAD START, BUT IT IS JUST ENOUGH TO MAKE THE RAVENCLAWS WORK OVERTIME! AND HERE THEY ARE!" She said as seven blue blurs flew up into the air, "CAPTAIN KINGSLEY SHACKLEBOLT, ONE OF THE BEST KEEPERS HOGWARTS HAS SEEN IN QUITE SOME TIME, FOLLOWED CLOSELY BY FENWICK, JONES, DEARBORN, ANTONY, PATIL, AND LOCKHART!" While the Ravenclaws continued to cheer, a few people laughed, noting the annoyance in her voice as she said Lockhart's name. "AND HERE ARE THE SLYTHERINS, Captain PARKINSON, MUCLIBER, AVERY, WIKLES, GOYLE, CARROW AND TRAVERS! OH LOOK, MADAM HOOCH HAS JUST STEPPED ON TO THE FIELD TO BEGIN PLAY!" The coach quickly released the bludgers, and the snitch, finally tossing the quaffle in the air with a flourish. "THE BLUDGERS ARE RELEASED FIRST, FOLLOWED BY THE GOLDEN SNITCH, THE SEEKER WHO CATCHES THE SNITCH, ENDS THE GAME. THE QUAFFLE IS RELEASED, AND THE GAME BEGINS! WILKES HAS ALREADYY ATTEMPTED TO UNSEAT JONES, WHO RETALIATES BY LEADING THE QUAFFLE DOWN THE PITCH. LOOKS LIVE AVERY'S PICKED A TARGET, AS HE STEALS THE QUAFFLE FROM JONES, PASSES TO PARKINSON, WHO SCORES. SLYTHERIN LEAD 10-O. COME ON RAVENCLAW, GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!" Demi fell silent as MocGongall's voice overpowered her.

"No bias please Miss Dumbledore," she said, shaking her head before giving the microphone back.

"AND PATIL WITH THE QUAFFLE, HE MAKES SHORT WORK OF HIS JOB, EARNING TEN POINTS FOR RAVENCLAW. SLYTHERIN DON'T LOOK TO HAPPY ABOUT THAT!" A huge "boo" was heard from the Slytheirns as Mucliber made a violent hand gesture at Patil, who laughed as he flew to his position. "WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE SEEKERS, IT LOOKS LIKE TRAVERS IS AFTER THE SNITCH, COME ON LOCKHART, SURELY YOU MANAGED TO GET ON THE TEAM WITH SOME SENSE OF ATHELETICISM!" A laugh erupted from all sides of the pitch, while the Ravenclaws grumbled about the lack of skill in their seeker. "OKAY, DEARBORN JUST SENDS WILKES TO THE GROUND, AND THE SLYTHERINS DON'T LOOK TOO OPTIMISITIC. IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THE SLYTHERINS HAVE CHANNELED THEIR ANGER INTO STRENGTH AS THE CHASERS, FLANKED BY THEIR TWO BEATERS HEAD DOWN THE PITCH TO THE RAVENCLAW SIDE. CARROW AND PRAKINSON PASS BETWEEN THEMSELVES, AS AVERY AND GOYLE KEEP THE BLUDGERS AWAY. OH LOOKS LIKE GOYLE'S JUST SENT JONES DOWN, AND AVERY REDEEMS HIMSELF SINCE GRYFFONDOR'S MATCH AND SENT SHACKLEBOLT A BLUDGER TO THE HEAD! AND THATCLEARS UP THE WAY FOR CARROW, WHO SCORES, PUTTING SLYTHERIN IN THE LEAD 20-10, THIS IS A CLOSE GAME. HOWEVER, THE OPPOSITE CAN BE SAID FOR THE SEEKERS, AS TRAVERS DIVES DOWN, ONLY 50 FEET LEFT TO THE GROUND, WITH LOCKHART RIGHT BEHIND, FORTY, THIRTY, TWENTY, TEN FIVE, AND-OHHHHH- TRAVERS PULLS OUT, NICE WRONSKI FEINT, WHILE LOCKHART BITES THE DUST. TRAVERS IN LINE WITH THE SNITCH, HE REACHES OUT AND SLYTHERIN WIN 170-10! WHICH ISN'T MUCH OF A SURPRISE WITH A SEEKER LIKE THAT, THEY MIGHT AS WELL HAVE BENT OVER AND –" the microphone was tugged out of Demi's hands by McGonagall, who looked red in the face. All around the stands everyone, save for the Ravenclaws, were laughing hysterically. Remus as well as many others had tears pouring out of his eyes, while his face was scrunched up in laughter. The crowd caught some of the words Demi was saying, as she attempted to yell into the mic, "LET SLYTHERIN . . . RIGHT IN . . . ASSHOLE . . . ."

With a huge tug, McGonagall managed to wrench the microphone out of Demi's hands, "No Hogsmeade visits for the rest of the year, Miss Dumbledore!" McGonagall yelled into the phone. A huge groan was heard from the blue haired girl, who stood up and exited the stand, along with many others.

 _Half an Hour later . . ._

Demi was sitting down for dinner, ignoring the dirty looks being shot at her from the Ravenclaws, who were practically furious for what she's been saying during the match. "Well it's true, isn't it?" she asked James, Kiaria, and Sirius, who'd found her after the match, and shook her hand as they continued to laugh. "If Ravenclaw wanted to put up a fight, they wouldn't have Lockhart on the team, now would they?"

James swallowed his chicken before responding, "Well, yeah it makes sense. But if their seeker isn't that great, isn't it better for us when we have to play them?"

Sirius and Kiaria nodded at James words, "makes sense," Sirius muttered, his mouth full of bread.

Demi raised her eyebrows, "how will we know if our team is any good, if we're playing against a bunch of halfass-ers?"

The others exchanged fleeting looks before turning back to her and nodding, "excellent point. Really."

This was also the case in the next few practices and the following match, Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor, which was finished in a half hour, with Gryffindor beating them by 100 points. They were quite happy with the short match, as the cold November breeze had the players frozen to their broomsticks.

It wasn't until December had arrived, that the majority of the students had felt the bite of the dropping temperatures. While the castle had fires blazing in all the rooms, torches throughout the halls, and was magicked to heat the rooms (even the Potions classrooms), it was amazing that the vast majority were still bundling themselves in heavy cloaks, gloves, hats, and (in Remus' case) layers of sweater vests. The only person who had no response to this, was Demi who wandered the halls in the barest of sweaters, but drew the line when Sirius sarcastically asked why she hadn't worn a skirt that day.

"I'm not mad," she said irritably, as she turned to focus on the Potions lesson.

Sirius gave the back of her head a questioning look, as he cocked an eyebrow towards James, "If she doesn't get sick by Christmas, then I'm a flobberworm. . ."

While the winter holidays were almost upon them, the teachers refused to be lenient when it came to homework, responding with "Do you want to fail your OWLs? Because that's how you fail your OWLs." Flitwick, who'd usually give up and let the student splay games when he knew he'd lost their attention completely, was now beating McGonagall for the 'most strict teacher' award.

"While the holidays are drawing near, and you are beginning to feel the effects of the holidays, I would like to remind you that when you get back, you'll have less than six months to prepare for your OWLs," he replied sharply, when James had started a game of exploding snap in the back of the room. They then turned back to the lesson at hand.

It wasn't until the middle of the last week that the teachers too were seduced by the holidays. Slughorn, who'd been planning tirelessly had finally sent out the letters for the SlugClub Christmas Party, to which Demi, Lily, Severus, Regulus, and Sirius had been invited to. While Demi was taking Jeremiah, and Lily was going with Severus ("Just as friends," she said pointedly when Demi asked), Sirius was hard put to find a girl to take with him.

Actually, that was just a lie. The person he wanted to take was already going with someone else, so he found himself in the perfect position to make her jealous. He ended up asking Christine Wilcoz, a pretty blonde sixth year Gryffindor, who practically giggled uncontrollably before telling Sirius yes.

On Wednesday night at 8 o'clock, he waited in the common room for her, and was quite pleased when he'd seen what she'd chosen to wear; a sleeveless deep purple dress with a low cut neck which ended just mid-thigh. Offering her his arm, the pair headed down to one of the lower dungeons where the party was being held. "So, who else is going to be there?" Christine asked Sirius, as they headed down the staircase, and to the dungeons.

"A fair few Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Slytherins, but very few Hufflepuffs. If the rumors are true, Old Sluggy's only accepting those who know other important witches and wizards, or are on their way to becoming one," he replied, as they walked down the dungeon corridor, the faint sound of people chatting in the distance.

Upon entering, Sirius was already itching to leave. Jeremiah was standing a feet in front of them, speaking to an important looking man, holding a green bowler under his arm. Clinging to Jeremiah's arm was Demi who (as Sirius was shocked to see) had smoothed her hair into neat waves, and had applied the barest trace of makeup. She was dressed in a black dress that flared out at the bottom, with lace arms and neck. She was smiling, also speaking to the man. Suddenly she stopped and turned to face Sirius.

"Sirius," she called, waving him over, "come on over here." She moved over slightly, to give Sirius and his date space to shake the man's hand. "Cornelius, this is Sirius Black and Christine Wilcoz. Sirius and Christine, meet Cornelius Fudge, the Junior Minister of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes."

The portly looking man gave Sirius a wry smile, "Ah, a Black I see."

Sirius raised his eyebrows, smirking, "I assure you, I am nothing like my family."

Fudge gave a short laugh, "I'd hope so. I just had to deal with giving your cousin Bellatrix Black a warning last weekend." He didn't elaborate on what had happened as Sirius has cut him off.

"She is not my cousin. I have no association with the other Blacks, save for few such as Alphard and Andromeda," Sirius cut in, his tone short.

"Naturally," Fudge said, scanning the room as though he were looking for someone. He seemed to have found them as another man, this one tall and thin, with a toothbrush mustache and severe parting was pulled into the group by Fudge. "I'd like to introduce you all to Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

The tall looking man shook each of their hands quickly, stopping when he shook Demi's. "Ah, Dumbledore's, am I correct?" he asked.

"Yes Sir," Demi replied.

"I remember him telling me all about you. Yours was an interesting story, especially around the ministry. We hope to see you and your well harnessed skills in employment at the ministry very soon." Crouch nodded at them all before heading along through the crowd. Fudge followed suit, placing the bright green bowler hat on his head.

Christine gave Demi an interesting look, the pair finally coming face to face. "I love what you've done with your hair Demitria. It looks so . . . normal."

Demi smiled politely before saying, "Uh yeah. That was kind of the goal." Jeremiah nodded at Sirius and soon they were walking through the crowd, stopping to talk to many of Slughorn's guests.

Soon, Slughorn had put on a jaunty little record, and (slightly tipsy) asked one of the ministry witches to dance, and soon, the guests were forced to head onto the floor.

Sirius was standing near the edge, Christine still on his arm, sipping on some juice watching Jeremiah dance with Demi. The song (just his luck) was slow, and the pair were dancing too close for Sirius' liking. He immediately dropped the glass on the table and turned to Christine, "Care to dance?" to which she nodded. They headed out on the floor and soon were dancing just close enough that Sirius was able to look over Christine's shoulder. It was obvious that Christine was only interested in one thing; Sirius' undivided attention. Many of the other girls that were at the party were shooting Christine horrible looks, knowing that she'd snagged the hottest guy in the school.

Demi however, was too interested in Jeremiah to notice much about what Sirius and Christine were doing. "So, what are you doing over the break?" she asked, as they waltzed around the floor.

"Eh, not much. Just preparing for my NEWTs and trying to get a placement in the ministry. That's why I was so interested in Fudge and Crouch. They'd be my ticket in" he explained.

"So you're planning to go into the ministry?" Demi asked, interestedly. She and Jeremiah never really talked about their plans after school.

"Yeah, I'm thinking law enforcement. Growing up I always wanted to be a lawyer," he explained, his responses quite short, as though his attention were elsewhere.

"What's a liar?" Demi asked, not knowing much about the muggle law system. There were no such things as Magical lawyers.

Jeremiah spent the rest of the night explaining what they were and the use they provided in the muggle world. By the end of the night, Demi was completely tired and the pair were heading up the main stairs, and up to the seventh floor corridor, where Jeremiah stopped and dropped Demi off. She kissed him goodnight and turned down the corridor, a horrible sight meeting her eyes.

Sirius was half hidden in an alcove along the corridor, with Christine. She had her legs wrapped around Sirius' waist and her hands running through his hair as he planted kisses on her neck and chest, which was quite exposed due to the low cut of her dress. Sirius had his hands placed underneath her thighs, holding her up against the wall.

Demi stood there in shock, unable to avert her eyes. It was only when Christine saw her through her fluttering eyes, "Sirius" she gasped, "Sirius stop."

Sirius groaned, before turning around and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the outline of someone standing behind him. He lowered her slowly to the ground, and she began to fix her hair and dress quickly. Sirius shoved his hands in his pockets and wheeled around to face them. When he saw Demi his blood ran cold, but he remained calm, his face remaining stiff. "What's up?" he asked, smiling slightly.

Demi raised an eyebrow, her mouth slightly agape, "Christine apparently," she replied shortly.

Sirius gave a short, bark-like laugh before facing Christine, "Do you mind giving us a minute?" he asked.

Christine, who'd managed to fix her appearance gave Demi a dirty look, before turning to Sirius, "of course," before planting a kiss on his lips. She strode away to the end of the hall, where she climbed in through the portrait hole. When it had closed Sirius turned to face Demi, "Love, you have horrible timing."

Demi looked slightly taken aback, "I'm sorry I didn't realize that," she took a moment to check her watch "11:24 was also known as better grope my date in a public space."

Sirius gave her a wry smile, "I didn't realize what I was doing qualified as groping," he said smartly.

"I'm surprised you were both still wearing clothes. You might as well have had sex with her," Demi said exasperatedly.

"How do you know I didn't?" Sirius said tauntingly. He had a malicious glint in his grey eyes, and a muscle twitched in his jaw, a sign that he was not lying.

Demi looked slightly nauseous, "You know what, I don't even care what you do." She said, striding past him, nudging his shoulder as she walked to the portrait door.

Sirius quickly grabbed her arm and swung her around to face him, "You do care. That's why you're so angry." His grey eyes searched her black ones, looking for some sort of hint.

Demi backed away from him slowly, her eyes shut. "I've had a long night Sirius, and as much as you may think I am interested in your love life, I am not."

Sirius released his hold on her and watched as she marched away and into the common room. Smiling, he too strode towards the portrait hole and luckily, the common room was empty. _Well, my plan seems to have worked,_ he thought. _And with a bonus_ , he added as an afterthought, thinking of Christine, who'd gone a long way to make sure Sirius didn't forget about her.

Demi and Sirius maintained a slightly strained relationship throughout the rest of the week. While some of them hadn't noticed that the pair were slightly distanced and were being extremely polite to one another, Remus had picked up on the signs. He hadn't been around since the night before Slughorn's party, courtesy of the full moon, but when he'd returned he knew something had changed.

He tried to ask Demi what had happened, but she kept insisting that nothing had occurred. Sirius, however, was as open as ever, and told Remus the entire story one day as they were wandering around the castle. "So now she's in a bit of a mood," he finished, as they sat down on one of the benches.

Remus sighed, "Honestly, I can't wait till the pair of you just get together. James was pestering me in the beginning of the year, thinking the pair of you might like one another, but I drove him off that completely. Now I think you might as well, seeing as none of your other 'relationships' seem to be working."

It was true. It was normal for Sirius to saunter into the common room, with a smirk on his face that told all. It was a look that practically screamed "GUESS WHO JUST GOT SOME?!" While the majority of the guys thought Sirius was "the man" (James being one of them), Remus had noticed that it had put a strain on Sirius' relationship with Demi. So far he'd overheard that Ami Gurne, Mildred Shane, Irene Tambler, Zara Reid, Nancy Wheeler, Penelope Harris, Sylvia Whyte, Meryl Lee, Maggie Reid, and Adrianna Chester had all spent some "quality time" with Sirius.

The evidence that these statements were true as Sirius gave all these girls secretive looks throughout their lessons and in the halls.

It was no surprise that Demi was waiting for the holidays to start. That was, until, she'd realized that Sirius was coming to stay with the Potters. It wasn't a surprise to her, and it wasn't as though she didn't want him there. She did, but she knew that Mrs. Potter, who was quite perceptive, would know that there was something going on instantly. Demi decided that she would spent every waking moment that she would only hang out with Sirius if there was someone else with them, such as James or Remus (who'd be joining them as well). The four of them, along with Peter (who had a Pettigrew family reunion to go to) were sitting together on the train ride back to London, the map lying next to Remus, who along with the others was trying to debate a worthy enough password for the map.

"I think it should be 'Gryffindor Rules'" Peter said again, looking at the others.

James rolled his eyes, "But that is too obvious Pete, you have to think outside of the box," he said, looking at Remus from who he'd learnt the expression.

Remus gave James a wary look before looking out of the window, where houses and high rise buildings passed quickly in and out of sight. "We should be at the station soon," he said, folding the map in half and tucking it away in his trunk (the others knew they'd lose it in a day). Five minutes later, the train had pulled into the station, and come to a halt. The five of them quickly unloaded their belongings and headed out to meet the Potters, who were standing near the back wall of the platform.

"Had a nice term?" Mrs. Potter asked, smiling at the four of them, who nodded fervently.

"Well, you can tell us all about it when we get home," said Mr. Potter, holding out a rather worn looking shoe. They all placed a fingertip on it and a minute later, they felt a jerk behind their navel as they span round, until their feet hit solid ground.

The four looked up the drive to the Mansion, which was covered in snow and gleaming icicles. Mr. Potter rubbed his hands together and turned to the teens, "So, who wants hot chocolate?"

 **I'm going to end this one here, and then have the winter break chapter up next. It'll be a long one, so I hope you forgive me for making this one kind of short. It should be up by the 17** **th** **the latest.**

 **Love from,**

 **A.S.P.7**


	9. Yule Balls, Close Calls, and Rhapsodies

The moment everyone had entered Potter mansion they found themselves fighting an inevitable bout of tiredness. They trooped into the living room, leaving the trunks and cages out by the stairs, while Tingle, who'd clearly heard them coming through the door, followed them into the room, a tray of hot chocolate hovering beside him. They each took the goblet, thanking Tingle silently and let the warmth of the cocoa purge them of that inner-frozenness they were all feeling. After a half an hour, in which Remus and Demi had already fallen asleep, they were quickly told by the Potters to head in to their rooms for a proper nap before dinner.

Upon collapsing on his bed, James felt himself feeling remarkably relaxed. The tension in his muscles and brain (courtesy of nonstop homework and study sessions) quickly evaporated as he gave a groan. He was too tired to take off his glasses and merely moved his face along the mattress until they slid off.

After a few hours (which seemed to feel like a few minutes) James found himself being woken up by his father, who insisted that he come down for dinner. "We have some things we need to discuss," he said shortly, before James could inquire.

He slowly untangled himself from the sheets and slid his glasses on, not bothering to fix his hair, which stuck up at odd angles, as it usually did. He gave a long yawn before heading out of his room and down the hall. He could hear Remus on the door to his left, and Sirius on the door to the right stirring as well. He knocked on both their doors before saying, "C'mon guys. Time for-for" he gave another shuddering yawn "dinner," he finished.  
Remus was the first to exit his room, wearing a navy blue jumper and sweatpants, while Sirius was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. "Did you fall asleep like that?" Remus asked, looking at Sirius warily.

"Too tired to change," the black-haired teen grumbled as he too sauntered down the hall towards the staircase. He knocked on Demi's room before saying, "Love, wake up. There's food."

A second later, the door flew open and Demi practically hurled herself out of the room, almost smashing her face on the opposite wall. Her hair was in a high bun and she was wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top. "Food, where?" she asked, her eyes looking slightly out of focus.

James patted her on the back, "Downstairs, where it usually is."

With that, she shot down the hall and turned down the stairs. The others exchange concerned looks, "She's always this hungry after a nap," James explained as they wandered on after her.

By the time they'd reached the kitchen, Mr and Mrs Potter, Demi, and Tingle, had already piled their plates with food, and Demi was eating at such a pace, she'd have given Sirius a run for his money. They sat down with the others, placing heaping spoonfuls of mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, chicken, and gravy on their plates. They poured themselves some juice and began to eat as well. Sirius who was sitting next to Demi, looked over at her "Juice?" he asked.

"No, I'm good," she replied. Sirius looked around for her glass, and noticed a small flask sitting next to her plate. She then asked Sirius to pass the peas, and when he turned back, the flask was gone. "So, what was it you wanted to tell us?" Demi asked, looking up at the Potters.

Mr and Mrs Potter exchanged fleeting looks for a moment before Mrs Potter spoke, "Well, we've made some new house rules, considering how intense and often Death Eater attacks have been happening." She tucked a strand of her white hair behind her ear as Mr. Potter continued.

"The rules are quite simple. Wherever you are, whether it's in the front yard, pool, backyard, or if you decide to go out to London (which they'd begun to allow the kids to do alone) you must tell us or Tingle first and you have to have someone with you."

"But what good's another teenager going to do if we're attacked by Death Eaters?" James asked incredulously.

"It might interest you to know that we've been receiving reports concerning your marks in your classes," Mr. Potter said. "And while we know that you two" here he indicated to James and Demi, "are doing an excellent job, I have no reason to believe that Sirius and Remus are behind you."

Mrs. Potter cleared her throat, "It might also interest you to know that you will be attending the Ministry's Yule Ball with us."

James groaned while the other three looked interested, "What's the Yule Ball?" they asked.

James sighed before turning to face them, "It's a fancy dance where all the ministry employees get together and drag their kids along. It's like one great big dance."

Immediately the looks of interest were replaced by looks of fear, "I'm busy that night but thanks for the offer," Sirius said.

"Uh OWLs, you know. Tough tests, am I right?" Remus said nervously.

"Can't dance. Broken leg, you know," Demi replied.

"I think Mars is in the fifth house that day, so" Sirius began.

"- Really bad cough-" Remus interjected, rubbing his throat.

"Spattergroit," Demi said, "nasty business."

The two adults laughed, causing the others to shut up. "You can't get out of this, just so you know," Mrs. Potter said to the kids.

"There is no escape," Mr. Potter added. "You're all going and that's final." The two adults magicked the dishes away, and left the table, heading into their office.

"Well at least we're all in it together," Remus said optimistically. The others shook their heads and headed out to the living room, where they were supposed to be setting up the Christmas tree. Instead, they spent the entire night playing exploding snap and talking about the various ways to cheat on the OWLs.

"I heard that Amelia Bones had a few grams of powdered griffin claw," Sirius said, leaning in. "It's going for 10 galleons a gram, and one is just enough for a good two weeks."

Remus snorted in laugher, "it's probably just doxy droppings. Remember what happened to that other fifth year and Amos had to fill in for him as commentator?"

The others nodded and sighed, "Besides, we're already suffering through all this work. We might as well just give up and start studying as well," James said.

"Lily's already made me a studying timetable," Demi groaned, a she shuffled.

"Really? Can I see?" Remus asked, intrigued. He wanted to know how Lily had gone about planning it all, as he too was concerned for his educational wellbeing. Demi whipped out her wand and suddenly a piece of parchment appeared infront of them. Remus gave Demi a look before picking it up. "Cinjusing Charm?" he asked.

"Yeah, I found that it was easier to understand what the practical differences were between the two when I was writing that paper for McGonagall last week," she replied, putting her wand back in the band of her sock.

Sirius gave James a weary look, "looks like it's going to be an interesting night," he said.

James nodded in agreement, as they watched the pair talk about the schedule.

"It's all booked, all of my time!" Demi said as she looked at the planner properly.

Sirius and James both lent over to examine the paper, "Hey," said James, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "she's given you off Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings."

"That's for Quidditch practice," Demi said, and eyebrow raised. "She was the only one who was happy that I was banned from all the Hogsmeade visits. Apparently, I won't be tempted to waste my time in Zonko's anymore. She was so jealous of me, says I have a valid reason to skip, while Andrew insists she goes with him."

"Andrew Carvine? That Hufflepuff boy?" James asked sharply, "What's he doing with Evans?"

Demi pulled out her wand and vanished the calendar as she spoke, "Well she's going out with him, isn't she," she replied conversationally.

"WHAT?!" James yelled.

They spent the next two days relaxing around the house, waking up at 11 am and going to bed at 3 am. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were called into work every day except the 25th of December. While they spent Christmas Eve at work, before they returned to get changed at take the others to the Ball, the four teens had decided they might as well put up the tree, as they'd been forgetting to do so for the past few days.

"So how do we pull it in?" Sirius asked, scratching his chin, as Remus analyzed the tree as though it were some complex math problem.

"Have you never put up a tree?" Demi asked Sirius interestedly.

Sirius shook his head. "It's a muggle thing isn't it? Obviously my parents ever let us do this kind of stuff."

"They do it at Hogwarts, though," James replied.

"Yeah but that's Hogwarts innit? I asked once a few years ago, and get sent to my room, no meals for a week." He replied shaking his head, "We can't cut down a tree, but we can certainly behead house elves and mount their heads on the walls," he said irritably.

"NO," Demi said, her eyes widened in outrage, to which Sirius merely nodded. "That's barbaric."

"That's the Blacks," Sirius replied grimly.

Demi shook her head, as she turned back to the tree. "I have an idea" she said, pulling her wand out of the pocked on her jumper. " _Evanesco,_ " she said, and the tree disappeared. "We can just conjure it inside of the house," she explained.

They all turned around and headed back through the doors, chucking their shoes on the mat. They headed in to the living room and Demi asked, "Where do you want it. The tree," she added hastily, knowing exactly what kind of joke Sirius would make.

"Uh, in the corner next to the fireplace, I guess," James said, pointing to the largest amount of unoccupied space in the room.

Demi took a deep breath before saying " _Bratus_." A moment later, a tree appeared standing upright, branches open wide. She smiled pleased with herself, "If only McGonagall were here to see this," she sighed heavily before turning back to the others. "So, what's next?"

Slowly over an hour or two (as they'd lost track after the first Tinsel-strangling incident) they decorated the tree and it wasn't until they had stepped back to admire their work, that they noticed the divide on either side. Sirius and James had picked out the gaudiest, most revolting ornaments, while Demi and Remus went for red and gold, in pure Gryffindor fashion.

"Well, it certainly is something," Demi said, her eyebrows raised in amusement.

"I think it's brilliant," James said, beaming with pride as the annoying purple decoration began to sing "Silent Night" in a shrill voice.

A moment later, they were starlted by the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Potter, who'd tumbled out of the fireplace next to them. Sirius offered the pair of them a hand, pulling them to their feet, their cloaks still coated in ash.

"Ah, thank you Sirius," Mr. Potter said, dusting himself off. He looked over at the tree before smiling, "Well, isn't that something darling?" he asked.

Mrs. Potter however, was too busy fussing over the others, "time to get dressed. Chop chop, we haven't got much time be need to be there in an hour." She ushered the four of them into the hallway, up the stairs, and to their respective rooms, Mr. Potter trailing behind, still amused by the tree.

James sauntered into his room, opened his closet and pulled out the pair of bottle green dress robes that his mother had insisted he purchase early in the summer. He didn't know why she was so intent on buying them, until he realized that she had probably been planning this for a while. He slowly began stripping his clothes off, tossing his jeans on the bed. "Goodbye, comfy clothes," he said, waving to the things he'd just pulled off, "hello itchy torture." A fair few minutes later, he'd managed to pull his clothes onto the right places, after wondering whether the vest went under or over the top of the white shirt.

Meanwhile, down the hall Remus was busy trying to find his robes. "Had them here a moment ago," he said, rummaging through his trunk, a confused look on his face. Sighing, he pulled put his wand and said " _Accio suit._ " A second later, a mass of cloth flew out of the trunk and onto his bed. Pleased with his quick thinking, he pulled them on quickly. He looked at the clock on the far wall of his room, which read 6:36. He sighed and ran over to the full-length mirror fixing his hair. Accepting defeat, he quickly adjusted his robes so the covered his scars. He quickly headed to Demi's room and knocked on her door, hoping she'd know how to do the spell that concealed werewolf scratches.

Sirius was completely worn out and really would have rather done an entire night of homework, than attend some dance. He'd had enough of party's considering the eventful night after Slughorn's Party. "I can't believe this," he grumbled, pulling on his black robes, which he'd never thought would be useful to take with him to school. "What, do you think there'll be time to dance between our OWLs?" He remembered asking his mother when she tossed the robes carelessly into his trunk at the beginning of the year, ignoring her son's questions. He looked over at the clock which read 6:30, and sat back down on his bed. He looked over at the mirror across the room. His hair had managed to fall exactly as it always did; perfectly. He lay back on his bed, waiting until he heard the others heading downstairs.

Demi wasn't all too fussed about the party. She used the leftover Sleekeazy's Hair Potion from the night at the SlugClub party and applied small dollops to her hair, so that when she was done, the frizziness had gone, leaving her with perfect waves. She then opened up her wardrobe door, and much to her surprise, she found a pair of burgundy robes that Mrs. Potter had probably gotten for her a few weeks prior. She quickly pulled them over herself and used some of the makeup spells she'd used the night of the party. Deeming herself as ready, she headed towards the bedroom door and was taken aback when she heard someone knocking on the door. Slowly she edged her way over and opened the door a crack. She smiled when she saw Remus, "What can I help you with?" she asked, opening the door so he could come in. She turned around and heard a gasp coming from behind her, "What?" she asked suddenly.

She turned back and saw Remus' mouth open wide, as though he'd received an electric shock, "It's uh, um, nothing." He scratched his head and pulled a face, and immediately relaxed, "I was wondering if you knew any spells that would hide the marks."

Demi looked surprised, "Why would you want to hide them?" She asked.

"Uh, I don't think the Ministry would take too kindly to have a werewolf in their midst. Yes, it's hard to tell, but I'd rather not risk it," he explained quickly.

She smiled before pulling her wand out of an inner pocked of the skirt. She pointed it at Remus and said, " _obtego,"_ and the slightest trace of a scar was immediately blurred out and reduced to nothing. "It'll wear off, but should last through the night. If it doesn't just come and find me."

They heard another door open and Mr. Potter say, "We're leaving in five."

The pair exchanged a look, before Remus turned to leave the room, "you coming?" he asked, hand on the doorknob.

"Yeah, I'm, uh-just give me a moment," she said. Remus nodded and shut the door behind him. _Sirius is going to have no idea what hit him_ , he thought, as he headed down the stairs.

Demi quickly tucked her wand back in her gown, and slipped on a pair of simple burgundy heels. She picked up a pair of gold studs and quickly popped them into her ears. She gave herself one more glance in the full length mirror, and found herself wondering what Sirius would think. "Nonsense, he isn't interested anymore," she said to herself. She took a few more deep breaths before opening her door and heading downstairs.

She got to the staircase, and saw James, Sirius, and Remus talking by the door. She quietly tiptoed down the stairs, her eyes diverted to the small fragment of the Christmas tree in the other room. She was startled into facing the others when she heard another exclamation.

Remus merely smiled, having seen Demi a moment ago.

However, it was Sirius that was stunned beyond belief. He hadn't noticed Demi was coming as he and James spoke, until Remus nudged him in the side and looked to the stairs. Sirius was expecting Demi to come down the stair wearing a nice pair of jeans and a sweater, as was her usual get-up. While he'd been surprised to see how she was dressed for the SlugClub Party, and thought that was as good as it god for her, he found himself sorely mistaken. She was wearing a floor-length burgundy dress, with a sweetheart neckline and thick-ish straps. The fabric was made of a floaty burgundy colour and there was layer upon layer of chiffon. The top had pleats in all directions, but it was the back that caught Sirius' attention; there wasn't one. The sides and back were nonexistent and the two straps came together in a v-shape which was attached to the back waist of the dress.

"Jesus!" James said, taking his glasses off and cleaning them on his cloak before placing them back on. "I didn't know you were a girl!" he said tauntingly, smiling at Demi. "No, seriously, you look beautiful."

Demi blushed slightly, nodding her head in thanks. She turned to the others, "Ready to go?" she asked as she picked up her black velvet cloak and threw it on over her dress. Sirius was still stunned and resorted to a nod.

A few moments later, Mr. and Mrs. Potter arrived. Mr. Potter was wearing a simple set of black robes, much like the other three men, while Mrs. Potter was wearing a robes of turquoise. They gave the teens a nod, and Mrs. Potter smiled when she saw Demi, "Ah, I knew I'd made the right decision. I must say, I was slightly hesitant at first, but the colour looks amazing with your hair."

Immediately, they all headed back into the living room, where Tingle was standing by the fireplace, holding a pot of Floo Powder. The two boys went first, followed by Demi, and then Mr. and Mrs. Potter.

"Well, they certainly did a nice job of decorating" Mrs. Potter said, as they stepped out of the fireplace and into the atrium, where the Ball was happening. The Atrium floor, which was usually a dark wood, was white as snow. The ceiling was still its usual peacock blue, but along with the golden symbols that moved like a notice board, were falling snowflakes, that melted before they hit the crowd below. The walls on either side were lined with fireplaces, and more and more people tumbled out of them. In the centre of the room was a fountain, which depicted the golden figures of a wizard, witch, centaur, goblin, and house-elf. Rather than shooting jets of water, they shot jets of snowflakes. Right in front of the statue was a stage, where Celestina Warbeck singing "You Charmed the Heart Right Out Of Me."

They managed to squeeze their way through the crowd to the tables near the back of the atrium, as many witches and wizards headed up to the front to dance.

A little ways from where the Potters were seated, was Albus Dumbledore, who was engrossed in a discussion with Harold Minchum, the Minister for Magic. "-which is why we have to act now," finished Dumbledore. Minchum sighed and took a sip of wine, before getting up and joining his wife, who was seated next to him in a dance.

Dumbledore immediately stood up and made a beeline for the Potter's table, conjuring up a chair and settling himself down, "Jack, Amie, how are you?" he asked, giving them a kind smile.

"Excellent. How about yourself? Seems to me as though you've got a lot to say on the topic, eh?" Mrs. Potter replied as Mr. Potter smiled.

"Ah, yes. Well, Minchum seems to think that placing more dementors in Azkaban will prevent any escapes," he explained sighing as though he was already planning to retire for the day.

"That's absurd," Mr. Potter said. "The Dementors will probably ally themselves with Voldemort the moment he asks."

Dumbledore gave him a keen smile, "that's exactly the point I was trying to make to him. He knows Alastor's had enough of dealing with the Dementors. I daresay we all have."

"It makes sense though," said Demi slowly. She looked up to the others as she shrugged off her cloak. "Well, Eugenia Jenkins was forced out of office, and the job just got shoved over to Minchum. He's been given a position that- if Voldemort were not challenging him- would be south after. He's trying to make moves so that it looks as though he's doing something. Otherwise he might as well follow Jenkins out the door."

The others looked over at her and Dumbledore smiled and gave her a little wink, before turning to Mr. and Mrs. Potter, "I see you've been teaching them well."

"I could say the same," Mrs. Potter said. "But what's this I hear about Demitria being banned from all the Hogsmeade visits?"

Demi's face reddened, "crap," she muttered.

Dumbledore replied, with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Ah, that could be due to the numerous pranks she and her friends here have pulled within the last few months. However, it was the biased and crude language with which she commentated on the last match. I distinctly remember you and Professor McGonagall fighting over the microphone," he chuckled.

Demi thought she was going to get a frim yelling-at, but was slightly surprised when the Potters began to laugh. "Oh, I wish I was there," said Mr. Potter.

Dumbledore turned his attention to his watch and stood up abruptly, "I'll be back in a few moments. Please carry on," he said, turning around and disappearing amongst the crowd.

The Potters, Demi, Remus, and Sirius worked their way through several courses, before feeling pleasantly stuffed. The two adults were making their way through the crowd saying hello to all and introducing the teens to the important members of the office.

They ran into a few students form Hogwarts, as well as some other witches and wizards who'd been coerced into attending the Ball as well.

Demi was immediately whisked away by one of these homeschooled wizards and the three guys could see her dancing alongside the tall, blonde haired teen. The song was slow and James found himself getting increasingly annoyed. "Some one stop this," he muttered.

"Well go on then," Remus said, laughing as he gestured for James to pass by.

James looked back at Remus, "Why not you?" he asked.

"I have a girlfriend," Remus said bluntly, realizing now would be as good a time as ever to explain why he'd been sneaking around more than usual. And this way, when he told them who it was, James and Sirius couldn't beat the shit out of him in front of all these people.

"Who?" the pair asked, looking an awful lot like girls who have just been told the latest gossip.

"Nirvana Carrow," Remus replied.

"WHAT?" the two boy yelled, earning them reproachful looks from many that surrounded them, not that they noticed. The pair were too busy pelting their friend with questions.

"WHEN? WHERE? WHY? HOW?" they asked, sounding remarkably like reporters.

"Near the middle of fourth year, we met in the library, I asked her to be my girlfriend because she and I have a lot in common and like each other," he finished. Before James could continue, Remus cocked his head over towards Demi and the tall boy, who currently had his hands placed on Demi's waist as they waltzed.

The bespectacled teen ruffled his hair, before heading on over, tapping the older boy on the shoulder, and saying something. Remus and Sirius could see Demi smirking at James from where they were, and soon the brother and sister were dancing.

"So," said Sirius looking up at Remus, "a Carrow."

"She's a nice one. Like you," he replied, knowing Sirius would understand what he meant.

Sirius nodded and the pair chatted amicably for the next few minutes before Sirius interrupted Remus, "Should I ask her to dance?"

Remus gave Sirius an exasperated look. "Oh come on, she's practically waiting for you to save her" he replied. To prove his point they looked back at Demi who was facing them over James' shoulder, with an annoyed look on her face as James talked and talked.

Sirius shuffled forwards lightly, and then felt Remus practically push him through the crowd and to the dance floor. Sirius tapped James on the shoulder gingerly, "Uh, may I?" he asked.

"Of course" James replied immediately letting go of Demi and turning to face Sirius, clasping his hands with Sirius', who gave him an irritated look. "Oh," James said, immediately moving out of the way as he and Remus ditched the floor.

"Sirius, thank god" Demi said, "I was starting to think he'd never shut up," she said.

Sirius smirked as he placed his right hand in hers and his left on her bare lower back. He felt her stiffen slightly, before relaxing and the pair began to move. It was a comfortable dance, as she was only a few inches shorter than him, thanks to the heels. "Yeah, I was going to let him keep dancing with you, it was quite funny. But then I imagined him dancing with me, and I began to feel your pain." His heart was pounding, ready to leap through his chest and he was becoming slightly faint at the thought of his hand touching her bare skin.

They kept on waltzing around the floor, weaving in and out of other couples. Demi spotted Remus dancing with a much older witch, who was enjoying herself immensely as the pair chatted, while James had found himself a nice looking witch, who must have been 14 by the looks of it. "So, are you still mad?" she asked.

"About?" Sirius replied.

"My freaking out when I saw you with Christine," she said softly, looking around the room for something to focus on.

"No, you had a right to. It was a pretty public display of affection, now that I think about it," he replied.

Demi smiled slightly, as she looked up at him. His grey eyes were practically a swirling mystery. She felt as though she were looking in a crystal ball, trying to find out what they were screaming. Her heart was hammering, and she felt herself becoming less aware of everything else and more aware of how close he was holding her.

The song had gotten slower and the lights had dimmed slightly, and Sirius pulled her a little closer, feeling Demi relax further into his arms and chest. "You're a good dancer," she commented.

Sirius could tell she was feeling exactly what he was feeling, "Yeah, I had to take lessons. It was mandatory in my household," he explained.

"Uncle Aberforth taught me when I was a kid. He'd stand me on his feet and waltz around the room. Said I might need to know for the future." She paused, smiling up at Sirius, "I hate it when he's right."

Sirius took a deep breath before saying, "I wanted to ask you to dance at Slughorn's party, you know. It's just . . . you were with him, so . . ." he trailed off, looking past her shoulder at the other couples.

He felt Demi's fingers turn his face back to look at hers, "Why didn't you?" she asked, her black eyes searching his grey ones.

"I didn't know how," he explained, "It sound stupid but I thought you'd rather spend the night with Golde."

Demi sighed, "You're one of my best friends. You shouldn't have to hesitate to ask me anything."

"What about telling?" Sirius inquired. "What if I needed to tell you something but I couldn't."

"Why can't you tell me?" she asked, interestedly. Her heart was practically beating out of her chest, as she waited for the answer.

"Because it would mean losing you," he replied sadly, the usual glimmer in his eyes had vanished.

Demi looked at him surprised by the sudden change in emotion, "You never have to worry about losing me. I will always be here for you."

Sirius and Demi stopped dancing, the pair deeply entranced by one another's eyes. Sirius felt a voice in his head that sounded an awful lot like Remus' yelling _kiss her! KISS HER!_ He slowly leant in, his hands placed on either side of her waist, and he saw her moving closer as well.

She could see every eyelash, every little sprig of stubble, flecks of dark grey in his eyes . . .

He could see the faint blush creeping up on her cheeks, the small lines around her eyes from all the time she's smiled, the lighter black of her iris . . .

Suddenly, the pair broke apart as James and Remus stepped in. "We need to liven this baby up," James said with a malicious grin. "You in?" he asked.

The pair, who were still startled were silent, each looking in the opposite direction. "Uh, yeah, yeah I'm in" Demi said, looking hard at James.

"Me too," said Sirius, who'd managed to find his voice.

The four of them pulled out their wands and crept around the backlot of the stage, where they found the speakers all connected to a megaphone playing a recording of "Hot Strong Love."

"I knew she was lipsynching," Demi said. She turned to the others just as Celestina announced she'd be taking a ten minute break. "Muggle or magical?" she asked the three boys, who smiled back at her.

"Muggle" they responded in unison.

They looked back at the megaphone, where the record had stopped spinning. "James, are they leaving the instruments on stage?" Demi asked. James vanished and promptly returned, nodding. "Excellent," she said, rubbing her hands together. Just give me a moment, and with a faint _pop_ , a record appeared in her hands. The cover read _QUEEN, A NIGHT AT THE OPERA_ in cursive and had a cartoon –like version of the Queen logo. Demi tore the plastic covering it open, "early Christmas present from Lily, Kiaira, Frank, and Alice," she explained as she popped it into the speaker. She quickly cranked the phone, and the four ran out and back to the dancefloor, which was still filled with dancing couples.

Suddenly a piano began to play through the speakers, and many turned to the stage to see what it was. Demi quickly motioned for them to get on the stage, and they followed suit. She and Remus quickly enchanted the instruments to play by themselves, and instructed them to pick an instrument up. Remus went for drums, James for the bass, Demi for the electric, and Sirius for the piano.

And so it began, the musical hijack of 1975, _"Is this the real life, is this just fantasy?_ "

Within minutes, the Atrium was in full swing, everyone who'd listened to muggle music, which surprisingly was a fair few, belted out the lyrics as the four teens pretended to play the song. Immediately after, while everyone clapped and cheered them on, much to the chagrin of Celetina Warbeck, who was annoyed to see her performance upstaged by a bunch of kids, they quickly removed the enchantments from the instruments, put them back, ran to the megaphone, where Demi vanished hers and returned Celestina's.

They headed back around to the front, and were greeted ceremoniously by many of the witches and wizards, who applauded them and patted them on the back. It was when they reached the Potters that they thought they'd be in trouble. The four braced themselves, but (not for the first time that night) were shocked when they too began to clap. "Excellent, you four. Excellent."

Behind them stood Dumbledore, who was clapping alongside the two adults, "Marvolous, you were. Music truly does bring people together."

The four of them spent the next half an hour saying goodbye to many of the Ministry's employees, before following the Potters into the fireplace, back to the Mansion, where, upon their arrival, they all headed upstairs to sleep, despite the stack of presents underneath the tree and the fact that the clock read 2 am.

It wasn't until nine that morning that they all woke up, brushed their teeth, got dressed, headed downstairs, and breakfasted quickly, eager to open their gifts. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were, much like the teens, eager to get to some present-opening as well.

Mrs. Potter received a lovely new handbag from the four of them, while Mr. Potter received an elegant pair of cufflinks, in the shape of a lion.

James got a new broom, Cleansweep 777 from his parents, sweets from Peter (as did the other three), a book called _Chaser's Ignited_ from Demi, and some Zonko's supplies from Sirius and Remus.

Demi got a new bag, which was saying something since her old one was in tatters, a book called _Assassination_ from Remus, and new album from a band called the Who from Sirius and James.

Sirius got a broomstick repair kit from the Potters, of which he was still in shock and was unable to find words to thank them, a book called _Shawshank Redemption_ from Demi, an Ireland Quidditch Jersey from James, and a David Bowie album from Remus.

Remus was given a record player (as Sirius had permanently borrowed his) from the Potters for which he was very grateful, a book called _Salem's Lot_ from Demi, a new Gryffindor Quidditch team jersey from James, who'd noted that Remus didn't have one, and a record from some wizarding band called the Weird Sisters, that Sirius had assured him he would like.

The four spent the rest of the summer and New Year's lounging around the mansion and soon found themselves dreading the return back to school, for there they would remain under the strain of work until such time they'd completed their OWLs.

The trainride back was a quiet affair and surprisingly enough, all five (Demi had sent Peter a novel, and she'd received one from Dumbledore, in a strange language none of the others could read) of them were engrossed in books. They read the novels from King's Cross all the way to Hogwarts, Sirius occasionally asking Demi and Remus questions concerning muggles, and were incredibly annoyed when people made loud noises out in the aisle, or disturbed them.

 **Here it is, and if you want to see what Demi's dress looked like, here's a link. Oh, and I'l get to what Lily was doing during the break in the next chapter.**

i01. photo/v0/1998325659/Real_Sample_Sweetheart_Neckline_Burgundy_Backless_ _


	10. Presumptions, Psycho and Punches

"So what did you do throughout the winter break?" Demi asked Lily as the pair sat in the library, revising for the next day's Charms test. They'd just been in the dormitory dropping their stuff off and (in Lily's case) pulling on the heaviest sweater she owned, before gathering their work and heading out.

Lily took a deep breath before replying, which was always a sure sign that something had gone horribly wrong. "Well, Petunia still hates me, which isn't anything new. And she was being incredibly horrible. Oh, and she's got a _boyfriend_."

Demi snorted with laughter, "What?" she asked. Form what she'd heard and seen, Petunia was a horrible person, with a terrible personality, and no sense of humour. "Poor bloke, what's his name?"

"Vernon Dursley and he's an absolutely horrible person as well. He practically hated me from the moment I shook his hand." Noticing Demi's curious look, Lily launched into the story. "He came over for New Year's dinner" she explained. "My parents have already met him, and judging from the way they spoke about him prior to his arrival, they aren't so fond of him. I distinctly remember my mother saying something along the lines of 'pig-like,' but I didn't know what he meant until I saw him," here Lily smiled in humour.

"Okay, what does he look like?" Demi asked bracing herself.

"Well, have you ever seen a pig in a dinner jacket?" Lily asked, beginning to laugh.

Demi let out a mirth of laughter, earning her the loudest and cruedest shush ever given by Madam Pince. "No way," she said between giggles.

"Yes way. He's an absolute pig. He's got one of those funny looking handlebar moustaches, and really greasy hair, and he barely has any neck. It was terrible. I had to stuff my face all throughout dinner to keep from laughing or saying anything that he might find offensive."

"Well shit," Demi replied. "Didn't he say anything to you?"

Lily gave Demi an obvious look, "Clearly he did. He doesn't know that I'm a witch, but my parents told him I attend boarding school for gifted kids, like they've been telling our neighbours, which gave off the impression that I think I'm smarter than Petunia. Not that that isn't true, she's tried to pass her driver's test three times, and she's failed. But clearly, Vernon doesn't care about what's in her head, but more about what's outside it."

Demi pulled a disgusted face, "It's true with most guys though."

Lily nodded, and continued, "So all throughout dinner he's shooting daggers at me, until the blessed moment came when he was about to leave, and that's when it happened." Demi nodded her head, telling Lily to continue. "I was saying goodbye, and turned around, thinking he'd gone, I muttered "pigheaded bastard" and he heard me."

"And I used to think you were smart," Demi intervened, her eyebrows raised as she shook her head. "What about the rest of the break."

"Well, I was with Sev, obviously, but . . ."she trailed off, as though she were wondering whether to confide in Demi. She looked at her friend who was slightly worried. "There's something wrong with him," she said finally.

"What? Has he gone 'round the twist, because that could just be from all this work" Demi pointed out, hoping that her tone did not give Lily the wrong impression.

"No," said the redhead, "He's acting very odd." She sighed exasperatedly, before continuing, "He doesn't talk that much anymore, and it feels like he's hiding stuff from me. Before I could ask him about anything, and he'd give me an answer, but now it seems as though he hesitates before responding about anything." She paused thinking for a moment, "I asked him about how his studying was going, and he just replied with 'good.' And another time I was telling him a story, and he didn't seem at all interested, as though he were thinking of something else. Yeah, sure, that happens, but it was constant."

Demi chose her words carefully before speaking, "Do you know if he's up to something. Not anything bad, but anything in general?" she asked.

Lily scrunched her face, "No, not that I know of," she replied relaxing. "But he does spend quite a lot of time with Wilkes, Avery, Mulciber, and Nott," Lily added.

Demi thought about this carefully, "Well, I don't know. Those four seem like the type to become death eaters once they've left school. Their families, way of thinking, and the older company they choose, like Parkinson, Malfoy, the Carrows and Crabbe." She noticed Lily's face drop slightly, "hey, I'm just speculating. For all you know, it could just be from schoolwork."

Lily nodded, giving her a weak smile, "You're probably right," she said as she flipped through the book, "Okay the Colour changing charms . . . ."

For nearly an hour the pair spent their time working their way through all the charms they'd learnt since their first year, with the aid of the appendices they'd been forced to make as homework, early in the year.

Demi leant back, stretching and looking at the clock behind her, "It's already 9. We should head back in half an hour, or else I might get another privilege taken away."

"And we wouldn't want that," said another voice. She turned to the left slightly, and saw Jeremiah, who bent down and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "So, how've you been?" he asked her and Lily, pulling out the other chair, and sitting down next to Demi.

"Good, just studying," Lily replied.

"Ah yes, OWL year is now upon you," he smirked before giving them a serious look, "If you thought the first half of the term was bad, wait till you get to Easter."

Demi groaned as Lily placed her face in her hands, "when will this end?" Demi asked, turning to face him.

"I still have nightmares Blue," he replied, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead, before getting up. "Sucks that you can't come to Hogsmeade next week. I miss you," he added.

"Me too," she replied, as she watched him walk away.

"Andrew never does anything like that for me. Besides snogging, he barely notices my existence," she explained, tossing her quill on top of a stack of parchment. "I completely forgot to ask, but Remus told me you ended up getting dragged to this dance o something at the Ministry. How'd it go?"

Demi sighed before launching into the story, which was cut short when Lily heard about Sirius and Demi dancing. "Aww, so did he kiss you after?" she said teasingly, as she took a sip of water, in the bottle she'd snuck into the library.

Demi closed her eyes warily, "Almost."

Lily coughed and spluttered, "WHAT?" she asked, drying herself with her wand and leaning forward, "What?"

Demi groaned and began to speak "Well, we were quite close you see, and it ended up getting to the point that he was leaning down slightly. I could feel his breath on my lips, but then James and Remus showed up."

Lily threw her hands in the air, an exasperated look on her face, "Naturally Potter would show up. Any display of affection is one that he will hate."

Demi gave her a look, "you have no idea. But the thing is, I'm kind of apprehensive about dating Sirius, if it ever came to that."

Lily snorted in amusement, "Well obviously. He's gone out with practically every girl in the school save for the Slytherins, and" here she lowered her voice and lent forwards, so only Demi could hear, "word has it he's shagged quite a few of them."

Demi's face paled slightly, which wasn't saying much as she was always pale. "That's not much of a surprise. He's one of those guys, you know? Like a player, but worse."

Lily looked confused, "Worse? He's one of your closest friends."

"He only cares about looks," Demi explained. "Last year, even before the incident, he didn't even give me a first look, not to mention a second," before Lily could interrupt, she continued, "yeah sure, he hits on me, but in a friendly way, like he does everyone else. But he's never actually told me that he really likes me, more than a friend. That is, not until I wore a stupid, revealing dress and makeup."

Lily was silent for a moment, "And you're sure he doesn't have feelings for you?" she asked.

"Positive," Demi replied.

The pair sat in silence, before realizing it was 9:45. "We should get going," Lily said shouldering her bag. "Ugh, I have duty today. I'll drop you off in the common room, but can you take my stuff into the dorm?"

Demi nodded and the pair slipped out of the library. They managed to get to the common room, without being seen by any teachers, and Remus was incapacitated, so Lily would be out on her own. Demi took the bag from her silently and headed to the dormitory, where loud snores told her that the other three girls were asleep. She placed Lily's bag by her bed, and did the same with her own. Immediately afterwards, she tiptoed back down to the common room, which –thankfully- was empty. She dreaded seeing Sirius even more after the Ball, and quite frankly was confused about what had happened. She sat down in an armchair facing the fire, and watched as it died down. After what felt like a few hours, she heard someone coming down the girl's staircase, and was surprised to see Kiaria, her long blond hair tied up into a bun as she sat down next to Demi.

"Can't sleep?" she asked, placing her head on the girl's shoulder.

Demi stroked Kiaria's soft, straight hair, which she'd give anything to have. "Yeah . . . I think it's just the stress of all these OWLs."

"Mmmhmm . . . you and Lily missed it. That tall Hufflepuff girl Sylvia White had a panic attack in the atrium downstairs after someone mentioned their OWLs. She thinks she's too stupid to take them. Amelia Bones had to rush and calm her down," she replied laughing.

"Who do you think'll be the first out of all us Gryffindors to go down?" Demi asked conversationally.

The pair were silent for a moment before responding together, "Lils."

"She's top of the class and yet she thinks she'll get kicked out if her grades drop below an A," Kiaira said, smirking.

"Eh, she spends a fair amount of time studying. I wish I had her focus in History of Magic though," she explained, "I keep falling asleep and I don't know why."

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you are always up so late," said a cool voice. The pair turned and saw Lily and Remus standing by the portrait door. Remus had a few dark gashes along his face, which were brought in to sharper relief by the embers in the fireplace.

He settled down in an armchair next to Demi, who leaned towards him, examining the wounds. "Did Pomfrey apply any silver and dittany?" she asked, concerned.

Remus nodded, "Yeah, but this one's pretty deep. It'll take some time to heal," he explained, leaning back into the chair. He had lines of worry and surprisingly, Demi could make out a grey hair or two on his head.

She stood up quickly and ran to the common room, returning moments later with a small phial filled with clear liquid. "What is that stuff, and why do you have so much of it?" Remus asked, as she unstoppered the top.

She quickly dabbed some of it on the wound, careful not to hurt Remus. She backed away and a few seconds later it was a scratch like any other. "It won't heal permanently, but it'll do," she said, giving Remus the phial. "It's healing liquid, keep it in case" she added.

The four of them sat around until the sky began to lighten, "I suppose we ought to head upstairs and get a few hours of sleep before class," Lily suggested, as they all stood up and stretched.

They traipsed up the stairs to their respective dorms, and managed to fall asleep quicker than usual.

They were met with lessons over the next few weeks, and the month of February was upon them. The OWLs seemed closer from this side of the year, and soon, it wasn't just Sylvia White that had panicked about the upcoming examinations. Students were melting down all over the school. Just that morning five students were sent to the Hospital Wing for a calming draught, which was being brewed continuously by Professor Slughorn for use in the Wing.

Slughorn, who coincidentally, had decided to hold a Valentine's Day party as well, had whittled down the students to those he actually thought were important. Needless to say, Demi and Lily were the only Gryffindors in their fifth year that were invited. While Lily was kind enough to agree to attend, Demi was rather tactless when Slughorn asked for her response. "Sorry sir, but I am actually quite busy, I have these OWLs you see," she said. Slughorn frowned slightly and continued to walk around the dungeon, in a slightly put-out mood.

Lily gave Demi one of her withering looks, "'Why did you have to be so mean? You could've just said no," she nagged, as they headed up to Muggle Studies.

They entered the already filled class and took their seats, waiting for Beckensly, who arrived a few minutes late.

"Sorry, sorry" she said, brushing her long hair out of her face. She turned to the class and clasped her hands in front of her. "Now, we've just gone through the 'Fairy Tales' segment of the lesson, and will be moving to Television and Films." She paused and noticed a few hands were raised, "Yes?" she said, pointing to a Ravenclaw girl.

"What's a film?" she asked, nervously.

Beckensly smiled politely, "A film, Miss Reed, is a series of moving pictures accompanied by sound, which tell a story. I have managed to get a hold of one for you to watch today." She pulled out a small black box, which read _Psycho_. "I've ran the film past Dumbledore, who said it was decent enough to show you." Beckensly placed the tape into the player of a television she's managed to bewitch to function normally amidst all the magic.

"What's it about?" James asked, interestedly, as Remus, Demi, and Lily exchanged looks, having heard of the film before.

Beckensly flipped the box over and read the description: "'Phoenix secretary Marion Crane, on the lam after stealing $40,000 from her employer in order to run away with her boyfriend, Sam Loomis, is overcome by exhaustion during a heavy rainstorm. Traveling on the back roads to avoid the police, she stops for the night at the ramshackle Bates Motel and meets the polite but highly strung proprietor Norman Bates, a young man with an interest in taxidermy and a difficult relationship with his mother.'"

She quickly scrolled through the credits and soon the class was completely silent, watching the film with such interest, Beckensly managed to sneak in a quick nap. She was awoken sharply by the sound of people screaming, and through her blurry, sleep-worn eyes managed to see a woman screaming in the shower. She smiled before nodding back off and was woken by the loud sound of an entire class gasping. She looked at the screen once more and noticed that they'd come to the part where Norman was dressed as his mother. She managed to pull herself in to a sitting position and watched the rest of the film with them. It wasn't till the end credits rolled, that a few of the half-bloods and muggleborns began to clap, knowing that's what a majority of people did once they'd seen a film.

"So who enjoyed it?" she asked, standing up and stretching.

Many of them nodded fervently and had excited looks on their face, "When are we going to watch another film?" asked the Ravenclaw girl, beaming.

Beckensly said they'd be watching another film called _Citizen Kane_ , and _the Exorcist_. A few moments passed in which she managed to shove in some homework, "One scroll of parchment noting the use of muggle technology in the film you just watched as well as the others you will be watching over the next week. On my desk next Monday morning," she added, as the class got up and headed out to their final lesson, Defence.

They'd begun to think that the new Defence teacher, Professor Millard (an old man with bushy white hair and a slow, droning voice that sounded much like Professor Binns) droned on and on about vampires, which despite being an interesting topic to the other students, made many of them fall asleep, including Demi, who usually was focused in Defence (which, unknown to the others, was her favourite class). "Your homework for the day is two rolls on Vampires, including their magical abilities and ways to recognize them."

Finally, they managed to head back into the common room, and after half an hour of James' rambunctious behaviour, Lily headed to the library with Marlene, Kiaria, and Alice in tow. Frank was too busy in the greenhouses helping Sprout, as Herbology was his strongest suit in terms of skill.

Demi and the other four guys sat around one of the tables and pulled out their work, slowly working through their Potions homework, and making short work of the first part of their Muggle Studies homework. They quickly headed down to the Great Hall for dinner, before rushing back up and attempting to crack out two rolls on Vampires. So far, Demi and Remus were the most focused out of the five, as Peter stared at the same spot on the same page for an hour, Sirius yawned and yawned before curling up on his seat and falling asleep, while James played with a snitch he'd nicked from the previous day's Quidditch match.

"Do vampires die, or are they immortal?" Peter asked, finally flipping the page of his textbook.

"No, they die." Remus replied, as he wrote, his nose practically touching the paper as he wrote.

"But how, aren't they indestructible?" Sirius asked, as he stretched and began to open his textbook. James tucked the sitch away and continued to write from where he'd left off.

"No, they're just hard to kill," Demi explained. "They're bodies are extremely strong and can withstand much pair, internal and external. Things like spattergroit and cancer will just make them ill, like having the common cold ill."

"-common cold," Sirius muttered as he scribbled down Demi's answer word for word.

Demi sighed, before finishing the last few lines of her paper, and quickly rolled it up, tucking her things into her bag. "I'm going to go-."

"For a walk" the others finished, not looking up.

Demi smirked, and exited the room, heading down in to the secret passage off the seventh floor corridor, and emerged on the third floor a few moments later. She walked around, her wand tucked in her left ear as she strolled about. She was just about to head back up to the common room when she heard a bloodcurdling scream come from the hall by the library. She drew her wand and ran, turning into the hall just in time to see Regulus Black, rolling around in pain as two tall Slytherin boys stood on either side of him.

"Hey, HEY!" Demi yelled, running towards them, "leave him alone," she said firmly.

"Ooh, look Reg, it's your girlfriend," one of them said, laughing as he pointed his want at her.

"She's not my girlfriend," Regulus gurgled, blood pooling in his mouth and dripping from cuts along his face.

The other boy shot another spell at him, and Regulus doubled over in pain, as though he'd been kicked in the stomach.

Demi yelled and shot a stinging jinx at the taller of the boys, who immediately dropped his wand. "What, you angry witch?" he snarled, looking over at his mate. "Go on, go get her."

He started forward, but Demi had already fired an impediment jinx at him, and immediately followed it with a banishing hex, causing the boy to fly back at least ten feet, to the door of the library, which flew open as students poured out, having heard the commotion.

The other boy headed towards Demi, wandless and had struck her across the side of the face, the heavy rings he was wearing on his hands bruising and cutting into her cheek as he hit her. Demi reacted instinctively, dropping her wand and forgetting she was a witch. She grabbed his arm, and bent it backwards as though it were a twig, and the loud snap of breaking bones filled the corridor, as many people cringed. He screamed in pain and fell to the floor, tears streaming from his face.

Demi took a deep breath picked up her wand, and stepped over the squirming boy towards Regulus. "Are you okay?" she asked politely, her eyes wide in concern as she looked at his bleeding nose, the gashes on his face, and the blood dripping out of his mouth.

He jerked away from her, and staggered up on his feet. "Get away from me blood traitor," he snarled, picking up his wand.

Demi shook her head, her arms up in a surrendering gesture. She looked past him and saw the Marauder's running towards her, their wands drawn. "Demi, you okay?" James asked, running towards her, while Remus looked at the Slytherin's arm, which was bent at an odd angle.

"DEMI, LOOK OUT!" Sirius cried, pointing behind her.

She turned just in time to see the other boy running towards her, his wand in his outstretched arm. She braced herself and quickly slid her arms back, grabbing him by the outstretched arm and judo flipped him, slamming his back onto the stone floor with a loud crack. He let out a scream, while Demi looked at him in disappointment and anger, before beginning to punch him in the face.

"How dare you attack someone when their back is turned? That's a cowardly-scummy-weasely –thing-to-do!" she said, hitting him with each word. It wasn't until Remus and Sirius pulled her off of him that she stopped, and fully assessed the damage of what she'd done.

McGonagall and Dumbledore emerged from the other side of the hallway, Dumbledore making sure the three boys received the medical attention they needed. McGonagall, however, was beside herself when she saw Demi's scratched face and managed to put two-and-two together.

"Miss Dumbledore!" she cried, completely outraged. "Twenty points from Gryffindor, for your appalling behavior. I cannot believe you would resort to muggle fighting. A month's worth of detention seems appropriate, seeing as you've already been banned from Hogsmeade." With that, she turned around and began to help Dumbledore get the older Slytherin's on stretchers.

Demi gave McGonagall a confused and disbelieved look, before wrenching herself out of Remus' strong grip, "you'd better check on Regulus," she said to Sirius, nodding over to where the fourth year was standing, his back resting against the wall.

Sirius ran a hand through his hair, as his fists clenched around his wand, his face alight with worry. He hurried over and quickly gave Regulus an angry look. "You stupid child," he whispered angrily. "Do you have any idea what could've happened to you? They could've easily beat the living crap out of you."

Regulus shot Sirius a dark look, "Not like you'd care," he whispered back, droplets of blood flying from his mouth as he spoke. It was moments when the pair were face to face, that you could see the similarities between the two brothers.

"Of course I'd care, you idiot. You're my brother," he whisper-shouted at him.

Regulus smirked, "I wasn't a few months ago. Funny, you only seem to acknowledge when that I'm family so you can look the hero, huh?"

Sirius gritted his teeth, "What do you mean?" he asked, using the five inches of height he had, to tower over Regulus. "What do you mean?" he repeated.

"You know exactly what I mean. You only want me as your brother right now, because you don't want people to know that you're practically disowned from the family, you slimy piece of shit," Regulus said, his lip curling.

That was pretty much it, and Sirius felt something inside his head snap. He drew back his right hand and swung viciously at Regulus.

However, before he could stop himself Demi had gone in front of Regulus and taken the punch for him. They heard her nose break and Sirius quickly recovered from his shock, "are you okay?" he asked, looking at Demi, whose nose and lip were both open blood dribbling down.

"I'm fine" she managed to say, and before Sirius could say anything, she turned around to face Regulus. She made short work of fixing his face, and within moments he looked completely fine. "Go to the Slytherin common room." Regulus stood there and looked at her, unable to respond to the woman who'd just taken a punch for him. He stood there, his jaw twitching. "GO!" she yelled, and he immediately jumped and scurried off to the end of the hall, turning to the left, down to the dungeons.

Demi then turned to Sirius, who was beside himself for hitting her, "I'm fine. Just . . . let's go." She turned around and saw Jeremiah standing next to Remus, his jaw slack. "I'm fine!" she yelled at him, as she walked over.

Jeremiah opened and closed his mouth, looking remarkably like a goldfish, "He hit you," he said, pointing to Sirius.

Demi shook her head, "No one of the other boys had hit me before. Sirius didn't do anything. It was my fault for getting in the way."

Jeremiah turned to Sirius, who half-expected to receive a swing in return, "Touch her again and I kill you." He said, before planting a tender kiss on Demi's forehead. "Want me to take you to the Hospital Wing?" he asked.

"Nah, I can fix myself," she said, pointing past him to the girl's washroom.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied. "Now stop fussing over me, and get back to the common room. I suspect McGonagall's going to come back and yell at this lot for not heading back to their common rooms yet" she said, gesturing to the crowd that had come out of the library.

He nodded stiffly before heading back to the common room, and Demi waited until he left before disappearing in to the washroom, returning a few minutes later, her face completely normal and devoid of any bruising. "Let's head back up to the common room," she said to the four boys and they followed her in silence till they got to the passageway, where James immediately wheeled around to face Sirius.

"You hit my sister?" he yelled, backing the black-haired man into the wall.

Demi pulled James back, "No, he was going to hit Regulus, which would've made him look like a complete asshole, and caused more problems between him and his family. I stepped in the way, because let's face it, I was already in detention and there's no way that McGonagall would believe that Sirius hit me. So I practically saved him from detention," she explained.

James gave her a disturbed and hard look before going back to Sirius, "If you ever touch her again, I will kill you," he said echoing Jeremiah, before turning around and heading up the passageway.

The others followed and arrived to a completely packed common room, where Lily, Kiara, Marlene, Frank, and Alice were among those waiting for one of the five to recite what had happened outside the Library. The five exchanged dark looks before going back to their table and continuing to work silently.

No one pestered the five of them, and soon, the rest of the Gryffindors began to head up, realizing none of them were going to talk.

Demi quickly went up and changed from her bloodstained robes and returned in a pair of black shorts and a grey tank top, her hair tied into a braid, sitting back down at the table.

When the few seventh years that had been occupying the sofas had left, Demi immediately moved into the armchair furthest away from the fire and closed her eyes, her head tilted back, listening to some music from the portable player she'd gotten for Christmas a few years back.

Slowly the others began to drift upstairs and James turned back to Sirius, "You coming?" he asked, quite shortly.

Sirius nodded, "Yeah, just give me a minute," he replied nodding over to Demi.

James sighed before nodding, "Just aim properly next time," he joked, as he climbed up the last few stairs. Sirius didn't move until he heard the door at the top of the boy's staircase close completely. He edged over to where Demi sat and settled himself down, sitting on the table in front of her. "Hey, you okay?" he asked.

"'M fine," she replied, her eyes still closed. She sighed before speaking again, "If you wanted to know the real reason why I stepped in the way, it was because I didn't want you to hit Regulus."

"You said that before," Sirius pointed out.

Demi budged over, and Sirius settled down next to her on the armchair, and she threw his legs over his lap, placing her head on his shoulder and looking up and him. "I mean, you didn't need to hit him. That's the last thing you want to do. The other members of your family are set in your ways. Some good, like Alphard and Andromeda, and others, not so much. Regulus is your brother, and despite the amount of times you say you don't want anything to do with your family, you have a bond. You once told me he looked up to you when you were younger, and if that's true then he still does. Hitting him would've broken that bond, and it would have distanced him from you in more ways than one. He'd be more inclined to join the Death Eaters, and do the opposite of what you'd want because he'd think you don't care for him. You still have time to talk to him while he's here. To make him understand that what Voldemort's doing is wrong. Use it and perhaps there'll be one less Death Eater when the war comes. Because it is coming Sirius, and the last thing we need is another pointless casualty."

Demi took a deep breath after her mini-speech and Sirius let it sink in. "You're right," he replied after ten minutes of silence, his voice hollow and dull. "I have time," he swallowed, "and I might as well do something good with it, while I can."

"There you go!" she said, pinching his cheeks, ignoring the poking stubble.

"What are you listening to?" he asked, picking up one of the earphones and placing it in his ear.

"Oh, uh . . . _Space Oddity_ " Demi replied as she stuck her other earphone in. The pair spent the entire night listening to music, until they both fell asleep.

Birds were chirping outside, which was slightly odd as it was still freezing. The early morning light shone through the several windows on the circular walls of the common room. It was freezing cold, and Sirius found himself shivering, while wondering why he was in the common room. He was immediately visited by the memories of the previous evening and night. He felt a tickle on his left shoulder and looked down. There, with her head laying on his shoulder like some makeshift pillow, was Demi. It was when he looked at her that he realized why he was shivering. He had placed his sweater over her last night, thinking she was cold. He looked at her face which looked remarkably peaceful, which was rare for her, as she was usually laughing, thinking, or angry. Peering at her face he noticed a stray strand of her hair that had tickled him prior, drifting across her face. He slowly moved his right arm and moved the strand behind her left ear. _Perfect_ , he thought, looking down at her.

A moment later she moved and her eyes flew open, causing Sirius, who'd been admiring her face to jump. Her eyes moved from side to side, as though she hadn't realized where she was. Immediately her watery black eyes settled on Sirius' grey ones, and he felt her relax into his arms immediately. She wrapped her arms around his neck, "bad nightmare . . . sorry" she muttered, her face pressed into his chest.

"Hey, it's okay. I know how it is," he replied, as she let go and faced him, her eyes swimming with tears.

"Yeah but this one was different somehow . . ." she muttered more to herself than to him.

"What happened" he asked, looking concerned, she quickly straightened up.

"Voldemort had . . . had . . . _you_ " she said, feebly, her eyes downcast, thinking that she'd become weak in his eyes.

Sirius smirked, "Love, I'm right here with you. Except I don't think James would be too happy about that," he added, frowning.

"We should probably get to the dorms," Demi replied as she stood up, grabbing the tangled mess of earphones and the cassette player. She tiptoed over to the girl's staircase and gave Sirius a weak smile, "Good morning."

"Morning," he replied, as he too headed up the stairs, hoping to God that James was asleep. And Peter as well, the boy never could keep a secret . . .


	11. Valentine's Day

While the first two weeks of February brought the prospect of warmer weather and OWLs closer, as well as two highly entertaining Quidditch matches, the first of which Ravenclaw attempted to get back at Demi for her biased commentary during their last match, and the second Hufflepuff versus Slytherin where (thankfully) Amos Diggory had been selected to commentate. The result was a loss for Hufflepuff, who were completely slaughtered in the first fifteen minutes.

"I was praying for some sort of miracle, but in the end I knew it was hopeless," Demi explained, "I really didn't want Slytherin to win."

"No one wants them to win," James replied, looking positively overwhelmed with the amount of homework he had to do that night. He and Sirius had decided to spend the last two days working on one of their more devious pranks, rather than the huge pile that was slowly building in the homework department. He was scratching his head as he looked over one of the handouts they'd received in Muggle Studies. "I don't even remember doing this," he muttered, looking completely flustered.

Demi sighed, looking completely tired, thanks to McGOnagall, whose name was slowly becoming something of a curse to Demi. "I mean, first Hogsmeade, and now a month's detention," she said, irritated as she'd collapsed on the sofa after two hours of scrubbing trophies. "I can't unclench my hands," she said, waving it under Sirius' face.

He laughed before saying, "I know the feeling."

Demi groaned, swatting him over the head with her hand, "You smarmy bastard," she said, smirking. "Anyway, guess who I ran into while I was heading back?"

"Who?" asked Remus, looking up interestedly.

"Severus," she replied darkly. "He was wandering around outside the trophy room. I cornered him and asked him what he was doing out so late. Had a bunch of books under his arm. Books about," here she lowered her voice so only Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter could hear her, "werewolves." She paused, and watched as Remus paled.

Sirius interjected, "from what I hear, he's been pestering the others as well. Asking them where Remus has been going? Why his mother's ill? What she's got?" HE slammed his book shut, knowing he'd never be able to get back to concentrating after this conversation. "Told him I'd pass the disease on to him if he didn't keep his nose out of other people's business."

The others snorted in laughter from Sirius' response, but Remus was not amused in the slightest, "What if he knows?" he asked nervously, growing paler and paler. "What if he tells people?"

Demi shook her head, "This is Severus we're talking about. His mind will always jump to the wrong conclusion, and I highly doubt that he'd tell anyone. He'd know that we'd go after him if he did."

"I'd kill the slimy little git," Peter said. "Never liked him. How does one have hair so greasy?" He muttered under his breath, while the others laughed trying to imagine Peter killing someone.

The rest of the night was spent in silence as they attempted to finish the last few things on their list of homework. Lily and Remus left the common room a few minutes after ten, going to patrol the corridors, while the others called it a night and turned in early.

No one in the fifth year remembered it was Valentine's Day until they headed down to breakfast, where everything was a violent shade of pink. Demi looked over at James and Sirius who were sniggering while shooting furtive looks over at the Slytherin table.

"What did you do?" Remus asked, as he too noticed the mischievous behavior being exhibited by their friends.

The pair exchanged socked looks before turning back to Remus, "How dare you even think about accusing us of doing something wrong?" Sirius said.

"Mischief managed, I swear" James said placing a hand over his heart swearing.

Remus and Demi exchanged suspicious looks before sitting down on the bench and helping themselves to some toast.

Nothing happened till about midway into breakfast, when one of the Slytherins screeched slightly, "Get it off! Get it off, get it OFF!" he yelled, jumping out of his seat and attempting to rip off his robes, which had turned a violent shade of bubblegum pink.

Students from the other houses began to laugh, pointing to the few Slytherins who were in tears. One of them jumped up and pointed over to the Marauders, "It was them!" he shouted and the rest of their house shot the occupants of the Gryffindor dirty looks. They went unnoticed as they all laughed, clutching their sides.

Dumbledore smiled, before waving his wand, and returning the robes to their usual moldy green. The Slytherins fumed, not bothering to thank Dumbledore, returning to their breakfast, looking slightly uglier than they did before.

McGonagall looked furious as she marched over to the fifth years at the Gryffindor table, Dumbledore following closely behind. "Again?" she yelled furiously, looking at Demi, not bothering to glance at James and Sirius, who were still smiling.

"This wasn't me Professor, I swear," Demi said, shaking her head as he r eyes widened. "Honestly," she looked over at Dumbledore, who winked, "You know it wasn't me."

McGonagall was ready to have a go at Demi, before Dumbledore placed a hand on her shoulder, "Now now, Minerva. You know the rules; innocent until proven guilty. Even in the most trivial of matters." He turned to face James and Sirius, "another Hogsmeade ban for you, I fear," he said before heading back to the table.

"Come on Minnie, really?" Sirius asked, as James stabbed at his eggs in anger.

McGonagall's eyes narrowed, "Messer's Black and Potter. You better grow out of this mischievous behavior and soon. I don't think many will take kindly to your pranks any longer." She turned on her heel and headed back to the staff table, her emerald green robes billowing behind her.

James pulled a face while Demi looked slightly pleased, "One less detention for me," she sang under her breath as she finished her toast.

The rest of the day was spent with students having quick snogging sessions between lessons. One of these, between Jeremiah and Demi led to a silent standoff between her, James, and Sirius.

It was quickly put to an end after Sirius made out furiously with some sixth year Ravenclaw, followed by another fifth year Hufflepuff and, perhaps the most surprising, a seventh year Gryffindor. Sirius slapped her playfully on the bottom as she walked away.

James and Remus gave him disgusted looks, while Peter looked at the young lady's bottom in astonishment as she walked away giggling. "Honestly mate, can you at least treat them like people?" Remus asked, as he headed into their Charms lesson.

Sirius gave him a confused look, "I do treat women like people. I treat them like Queens" he said loudly as he took his seat next to James and across the aisle from Remus and Demi, who were both shaking their heads.

Before anyone could reply, Flitwick wandered into the classroom, and after calling out roll, began to dump some information on their heads. "Now, I trust that you are all familiar with how important all these exams are, but that isn't the only thing that the fifth year has to do with your future." He paused, before beginning again; "While you all have to complete your owls, you are all going to be spending some time deciding which cases you plan on taking after this year. These are the classes that will help you for your post-secondary education. Your post-secondary education is largely dependent on what career you choose to pursue after school, which is why each of you will have a counseling session with your head of house over the next week. In these sessions, you will talk about what careers you have thought of pursuing after school."

"While some of you are familiar with the various ways in which Wizards and Witches do their part in the magical community, some of you remain in the dark about the endless opportunities that are provided to you. To help you make your decision, we have left countless pamphlets in the four common rooms that you may browse through when you have time. They will act as guides and suggestions to help you in your decision making process." He took a breath as the class began to break out into chatter. He coughed slightly, and regained everyone's attention, "With that out of the way, let us continue with our lesson on the Stunning Charm."

They spent the rest of the lesson attempting to stun one another. Within the hour, Sirius had made many suggestive comments towards Demi, which were finally silenced, when James used the silencing charm behind Sirius' back, causing Flitwick, who's been walking by to laugh and award them fifteen points.

The laughing ended when he gave them a ton of homework for the following week, which included multiple essays on the several charms they'd learnt in the past few months.

The rest of the day was spent gathering more and more work to add to their 'to-do' lists, and soon the students were glad to be in the safety of the common room, where they were finally able to get a crack at the stack of work.

Lily, Remus, and Demi (surprisingly as she'd just returned from her detention a mere half an hour ago) were among the first to finish their work and were soon settled on the sofas, flicking through the pamphlets. Lily was engrossed in the Healer's section, while Demi and Remus were going through the various pamphlets on the Ministry's Law Enforcement Department.

"We'd need pretty much everything," Demi whispered as they flicked through the required courses.

"Yeah, well, they are the elite, aren't they?" Sirius said, dropping his quill as he and James headed over. Peter followed behind, and they all squished together on what was supposed to be a three-seater.

"They are," James murmured as they looked over the types of situations Aurors face most frequently. "I mean look at Moody," he said.

The others nodded, while Lily looked curious. "Who's Moody?" she asked.

Not only did the five on the sofa give her a shocked look, but the rest of the room fell silent as well. "You don't know who Moody is?" asked a tall Sixth year, her eyes wide.

"Jesus Evans," said Sirius, looking at her in awe, "I didn't think there'd ever come a day when we knew something you didn't."

Lily stuck out her tongue before repeating the question. "Well, he's an auror clearly," she said, looking round.

"He's not just an Auror," a tall boy in the back said, his eyes wide.

"He's bloody brilliant!" his friend remarked.

"He's caught at least a third of the dark wizards in Azkaban," said James, looking misty-eyed.

"He's my idol. Well, him and Dumbledore," Demi said. "Met him once, when Dumbledore took me to the ministry. Played exploding snap with me. This was before he went off the handle, though."

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking interested.

There was a smidge of chatter before another older student spoke up, "Well, he's gone 'round the twist, you see."

"Hasn't been quite right since that plot was exposed," James interjected.

"What plot?" Lily asked, furious she wasn't getting whole answers.

"Well, it turns out that You-Know-Who was trying to get him offed, but Moody caught wind of it at the last minute. Went ballistic and apprehended five Death Eaters on his own," Marlene replied in something just above a whisper.

"Now he's just plain paranoid," said another kid, "Doesn't feel safe at all."

"Barely trusts anyone, except those he can't help but trust," whispered Marlene.

Lily looked confused, but was given the answer by Demi, "Dumbledore," she supplied.

"And you guys want to be Aurors?" Lily asked, looking at the four of them, who nodded fervently. "Well Demi and Sirius I get, but you two" here she gestured to James and Sirius, "I highly doubt."

"Hey, I think I'm an alright wizard," James retorted, his face reddening slightly. "Yeah sure, I might not be great in class, but it all comes down to what you can do in the moment, you know? You don't get a second chance when you're in the middle of a battle." He fell silent, as though he'd remembered something unpleasant.

"He's right Lils," Demi added, "It isn't anything at all like class. You don't get a second chance. You're just left with a second where you have to make a life-changing decision. One wrong spell and you're dead. That's what is out there, waiting for us."

The room darkened as everyone reflected on Demi's words. She was too busy gazing into the fire, much like James moments before, as though she were lost in some far memory.

Slowly, the noise level began to return to what it used to be, and the students began to go back to their work. They were slightly subdued, rarely speaking unless it was to ask a question or say goodnight.

Finally the room was empty and it was just the four Marauders, two of which were annoyed by the prospect of having to go to detention the next day. Sirius was in the middle of voicing his frustrations to Peter and a tired Remus. He was interrupted by James, who'd jumped as though someone had set a fire under his ass. "Wait, this gives me an idea!" James said, leaning towards Remus, "Where's the map?" he asked.

Remus gave him a confused look, before conjuring the map up onto the table. James picked up one of the folds and asked, "I've got an idea for a password. One to open it and another to close it."

Peter sighed, "But I can barely remember the one for the Portrait door," he grumbled.

James shot him a hopeless look, before turning back to Remus, who asked, "What's the password James," Not bothering to sound at all alert, assuming it would be another one of his stupid suggestions.

James rubbed his hands together, smiling evilly before saying, "When we open it, we say 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good' and when we erase it, we say 'mischief managed.'

Sirius and Remus exchanged shocked looks before smiling, "That's brilliant James," Remus said, pulling out his wand and muttering a few spells. A second later, the map had fallen blank, and he looked up at James, "say it."

James placed the tip of his wand on the map and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Form the spot where his wand was touching the paper, lines of ink began to weave their way onto the page and the map, along with it's labels appeared. He looked up to Remus in shock, smiling. Sirius was in awe, before telling James to erase it. James tapped the map again, "Mischief managed." Seconds later, they were staring at a blank piece of parchment.

"We should get Demi to enchant it, though. The last thing we need is for Snivellus to overhear us and try to force the map to reveal itself," Sirius said.

Remus smiled mischievously, "I have an idea. We should enchant it so that it insults him."

The four boys spent the rest of the hour talking about all the things they hated about Severus, before finding themselves feeling exhausted.

Remus was about to tuck the map away, before thinking of something better, and passing it to James. "Keep it with the cloak. It just seems like the right thing to do."

James took the map and mock-saluted to Remus, "I wont let you down Captain," he said, before marching up the stairs, his chest puffed out with a proud look on his face.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at Remus before saying, "Five Galleons says he loses it by the end of the year?"

Remus cast another look at the stairs, where James had disappeared, before shaking his hand, "I'll take those odds, but I'd say the last year."


	12. Animagus Weekends & Just Friends?

The Easter Break was normally a time for relaxation, and a hint that although exams were approaching, they still had time to study- at least, that's how it had been for the past four years. Now, the fifth and seventh years were dominating the common room, with Remus and Lily yelling at anyone who made the slightest amount of noise. I didn't help though, that the ones who were making the most noise, were the Marauder's themselves.

Sirius and James had just finished pulling a last minute prank on Peeves, which involved the bust of Paracelsus falling on top of his head. They were recounting the story to Demi, who had just finished revising for Transfiguration. "So, what did he do after?" she asked, trying to egg them on. She had to meet Jeremiah in less than ten minutes, and the boys' story was dragging out forever.

Sirius sniggered while James continued, "Well what then? He's too busy floating around by the passage to the Owlery with a bust on his head!" he exclaimed, high fiving Peter, who'd dropped the pretense of doing his work and was invested in the retelling.

Demi gave them an appraising before saying, "Time well spent." She got up and headed out to the portrait door, her night time walks becoming something of a routine in the eyes of the Gryffindors. She headed down the passageway as she normally did, and was on the fourth floor, heading to the West tower when she heard voices in the passageway to the left. "I'm not telling him anything," said a raspy male voice, which sounded oddly familiar. Demi stood back, forgetting that she had already placed a disillusionment charm on herself.

"It doesn't matter," said another, more mature voice. She heard the sound of something heavy being thrown against a wall, followed by the grunt of someone who was in pain. "If any of _his_ lot even get a whiff of what's actually going on, then there will be hell to pay," the voice said. She heard heavy footsteps coming round the corner towards her, a shadow passed across the adjacent wall.

A second later, Demi ducked behind a tapestry and held her breath as the tall figure passed. She couldn't make out a face, but from the swish of emerald green and black robes, she was sure it was a Slytherin.

She waited a few moments, before stepping out of her hiding place and rounded the corner. "Severus?" she asked, looking down at the figure.

Severus was hunched over in pain on the ground, blood pouring profusely from his nose and there was a few bruises in sight, before he tugged his robes back in their proper places. He shot her a sour look, his pallid face swollen in some places, and his hair hung lank, and greasier than ever. "Get out of the way blood traitor," he muttered, nudging her as he walked by. He placed a majority of his weight on the opposite wall, unable to stand on his legs.

Demi gave the boy a concerned look, before replying, "That's rich coming from a half-blood, whose mother lives in shame of her magical heritage."

Severus stopped his, breathing becoming rapid and heavy. Demi saw his hand plunge into his robes, but managed to disarm him before he'd even pulled his wand out.

"Come on then, let's have a go!" he said, getting all jumped up, his hands curling into little fists.

Demi gave him a look of deep loathing and pity. "You aren't worth the effort Severus. And that's not because there isn't a crowd to please and James and Sirius aren't here," she spat. "It's because you're Lily's friend. And despite the fact that I do not harbor any positive feelings towards you, I still will not bring my wand up to hurt you. Because of Lily. She's the only thing that keeps me from hexing you into oblivion. The minute that you and her are no longer friends, is the moment from whence you should begin to watch your back. Because it won't be the few of us who come after you. It'll be everyone that has ever had one of your creations used against them." She turned around and headed out to the main corridor. The minute she was out of Severus' sight, she bolted back to the common room, making a beeline straight for Lily, who was hysterical at the complexity of the newest Transfiguration spell.

"I need to talk to you. Now" she said urgently. Lily looked up, her eyes filled with worry and the pair headed straight up to the girl's dormitory. Demi locked the door before she and Lily settled down on the latter's bed. "Severus is up to something," she said.

Lily looked confused, "What do you mean? Like what I was telling you a few weeks ago?" she asked.

Demi nodded before launching into the story of what she'd heard. "He's doing something with a bunch of the older Slytherins, like Nott, Avery, Wilkes, Mucliber, and Parkinson. And believe me, they don't want any of us to find out."

"Us?" Lily asked, looking taken aback. "But Severus never hides anything from me. He's one of the most honest people I've met, unlike the company you have," she added

Demi raised an eyebrow, "Really? Sirius and James are your concern? I'm trying to warn you. Severus is planning something, and it isn't a surprise tea party. It's something bad." She received another reproachful glare from Lily before stating, "I just want you to be careful. The last thing I need on my conscience is for something to happen to you, and I didn't warn you about it 'cause I didn't want to hurt your feelings." She paused and let her words sink in. "I know I'd want you to do the same for me."

Lily remained silent for a few minutes before nodding slowly, "I'll be on guard, but I am not having a bunch of people patrolling me when I am with him."

Demi nodded, knowing that Lily wouldn't agree to let her accompany the pair of them on a daily basis, it would be too obvious. "Just be in a public place or around other people, that aren't from Slytherin?"

Lily nodded and soon the pair were about to head back to the common room, before Demi looked shocked, and slapped her hand to her head. "Shit, I was supposed to meet Jeremiah a half an hour ago," she said, looking up at the clock which now read 9:38. She turned to Lily, "D'you think he'd still be there?" she asked.

Lily too glanced up at the clock before shaking her head, "No, he'd have enough sense not to be lurking around the corridors by now." She noticed Demi looking slightly annoyed with herself, "Hey, just make up an excuse as to why you were late? Just tell him you were studying, or tell him what actually happened. I'm sure he won't hold it against you."

Demi nodded at Lily's advice and took her seat, starting another one of the several essays they had to write.

By the time the morning rolled around, Demi was annoyed with Lily, and herself for listening to the girl. The day started out fine, she got dressed, grabbed her books, waited for the others, and headed down to breakfast. She was sure that Jeremiah would be there already, and sure enough, he was sitting with his mates at the Ravenclaw table.

Demi walked up to him and took the seat opposite him, "Hey, I'm sorry that I missed yesterday. I ran into Severus and we kind of got into it. I ended up forgetting where I was supposed to be, and wound up back in the common room. It was a half an hour later before I realized. I'm so sorry."

She watched and waited for Jeremiah to show some sign of acknowledging her apology. Instead, she ended up waiting for ten minutes before he looked up at her, "Oh, you decided to show up eh?" he asked, in a rather rude tone. His eyes barely met hers, and she could tell that he hadn't slept properly due to the dark circles around his eyes.

"Hey, I said I'm sorry. What more do you want me to do?" she asked, looking annoyed and taken aback by this sudden change in Jeremiah's character.

"What I want, is to spend more time with my girlfriend, but that doesn't seem to be happening, does it?" he shot back, his measly bowl of cereal cast aside, as his friends watched the entertainment.

"What? We spend more than enough time together," Demi said, although she knew it was far from true. The last time the pair had spent any quality time together was when they went to Hogsmeade; back in October.

Jeremiah scoffed, while his friends tried to look as though they weren't really eavesdropping. "You know that's a bloody lie, right? I get it. Its OWL year, and I know the stress. But are you telling me that when I was doing my OWLs last year, we didn't hang out a lot?"

"I'm not telling you anything. I know we haven't spent a lot of time together this year, and it's partly my fault-," she began.

"IT'S ENTRIELY YOUR FAULT!" He screamed, slamming his fist upon the table, causing the cutlery to rattle, and everyone in the vicinity to turn and watch. He took a deep breath, whispering, "You're the one who got banned from Hogsemeade." His voice sounded strained, as though it was taking all of his efforts to keep from shouting.

Demi was itching to wrap her hands around his throat, purely from anger, but she managed to call herself. She didn't need another incident like the ones that had cost her all the visitations in the first place. She took a deep breath and said, "Talk to me when you're sorted out your priorities," and with that she headed over to the Gryffindor table, sitting at the end of the table, away from James and Sirius, who would most likely plague her with questions concerning the fight.

She stayed silent and worked solely on whatever tasks she was given that day. It wasn't until Quidditch practice that evening that James and Sirius had managed to corner her. "What was that all about?" James asked, looking at her, his hazel eyes looking mad.

"Nothing" she replied shaking her head, "Don't worry about it."

James looked frustrated at her lack of response, while Sirius looked downright murderous. "Did he . . . do anything funny?" Sirius asked, while James' lip tightend.

Demi looked completely blind sighted, "NO, no, oh-go no" she replied, shaking her head furiously. "He's just under the impression that we haven't been spending time together. He thinks I'm blowing him off, which I accidentally did yesterday night."

The pair exchanged looks, before sharing a shaky laugh, "Oh, well, that's not too bad," James said, looking as though he'd dodged a bullet.

"I was beginning to think that the worst had happened," Sirius added, fanning his face. "Well, we'd better get over to Wood, looks like he's in one of his good moods today."

Sirius was dead wrong. While the skies were clear, the humidity was unbearable. They were all sweating profusely under their heavy gear, and were seriously dehydrated. Demi looked alright, but the dehydration was her main concern. Wood had forced them to continue for almost two hours, before conceding defeat and leading them back to the changing rooms.

"We've just got that game against Slytherin in May. That's it. We're first, and we've got a seventy point lead. So as long as you (here he looked at Demi) catch the snitch when were 50 points up, we'll be fine. We've got the best goddamn team here in the entire school, no one can deny that." They all tried to nod, except they were far too tired.

They quickly changed and headed back to the castle for a nice shower, before hitting the books. "So, you going to try to make amends?" Kiaria asked, as the pair were changing.

Demi sighed, "I don't know. I mean, it's both our faults and I've already done my bit, so I'm just going to wait for him to apologize I guess" she replied.

Kiaria laughed before saying, "Apologizing isn't about being fair, Dems, it's about owning up to your mistakes." She gave the girl a pitiful look before continuing, "You're still quite hard-headed."

Demi huffed, "I am not hard headed" she replied angrily. She didn't talk to Kiaria until they were climbing in through the portrait hole, before reflecting on her actions. She turned to face Kiaira, who'd clearly been watching Demi's facial expressions.

"I know, you're sorry and you think I'm right in saying what I said. But we haven't got time for that. It looks like McGonagall has posted our career consultation appointments," she nodded over to the huge corkboard, where all the other fifth years were gathered around. "Oh, mine's tomorrow at 10. Yes, that's cuts History of Magic," Kiaria said, high fiving Marlene, who's appointment was directly afterwards.

"Thank Lord," Marlene said, looking quite pleased. "I've known what I've wanted to do for years, but I haven't actually done it."

"What is it?" Demi asked, as she read through the list, looking for her appointment.

"I want to be the Minister for Magic," she stated bluntly.

While the others nearby laughed, Demi gave her a serious look, "I think you'd be an excellent Minister."

Marlene blushed deeply and went over to sit with Lily, as the pair worked on their Potions essay. Demi looked kind of confused, "What did I say?" she asked, looking over at the others.

"Well," Kiaira said, throwing an arm around Demi and steering her up the stairs to their dormitory. She shut the door behind them and turned to face Demi, trying to hold back a laugh. "Marlene thinks very highly of you," she stated plainly.

Demi looked somewhat amused, "Really? And what would make you say that?" she asked.

"Well, I spend a lot of time with her. I mean, we're sort of like the third and fourth wheels when it comes to hanging out with Alice and Frank. And Lily's always with Severus, but you can tell that's sort of going to pieces now," Kiaria said. "And one day she mentioned how she was very intimidated by you-."

"Lily said the same thing to me a while back," Demi interjected.

"Yeah," Kiaria said, smirking. "She told me about the first time you met. Apparently it was very brief, and Dumbledore had left you two alone, to talk for a bit. She said you were incredibly bright and somewhat intense. You still had the bruises from the You-Know-Who thing, so. . ." Demi nodded to tell Kiaria to continue. "Ever since, she's sort of thought you were some sort of warrior. And, I think this might just be me reading too much into this," Kiaira spoke, coming near Demi and lowering her voice. "I think she likes you. A lot."

Demi tried to stifle a laugh, "That's insane. Yeah, if I was a lesbian, I'd be lucky to have a girlfriend as smart and funny like Marlene, but that's a bit much. For all we know, she might like you" Demi said, jabbing a finger in Kiaria's side as she walked to her trunk and pulled out a shirt and jeans. She turned back to face Kiaira who still hadn't moved, her face still, and her mind looking as though it were going a thousand miles an hour. "What's going on up here?" she asked, tapping Kiaira on her head.

The blonde took a deep breath before saying, "I like her."

Demi dropped her towel, and looked over her shoulder at Kiaira, "Aww, really?" she asked. Kiaria nodded and looked at Demi. "So? When are you going to ask her out?" she asked.

Kiaria blanched at the thought. She ran a hand through her hair, as she bit her lip, "I don't even know for sure if she'd like me though. And besides, I've only just met her, it might be too soon."

"It wasn't too soon when you asked Michelle, and that's when you were dressed as Sirius. At least Marlene knows it's you," Demi pointed out heading into the bathroom. Before closing the door, she stuck her head out the door, "I'd make a move though. The last think you want to do is to wait till Sirius goes out with her," she said jokingly.

They were in the second week of March, Jeremiah hadn't spoken to Demi in almost three weeks, and Remus' birthday was coming closer. The three boys and Demi had their heads put together to find the best present they could give him, before James sighed and stated the most obvious one there was, "Well we're all successful when it comes to Animagus transformations. I think that should be our gift." They all exchanged looks before nodding, and soon the tenth was upon them.

Remus woke up that morning and was slightly annoyed by the prospect of the full moon that night. He could feel the tension in his muscles and had a slightly impatient air about him. It wasn't until he'd opened his eyes completely and focused on the scene around him that he saw what was happening. Sitting on his dresser was a rat, by the foot of the bed were a huge black dog and dark blue wolf, both slightly curled up and their eyes on him, and while in the centre of the room was a huge Stag. Remus smirked before saying, "No, no way."

Demi and Sirius both gave impatient growls, while James butted Remus in the shoulder with one of his antlers. Peter was motionless, and had apparently fallen asleep. Remus sighed and nodded his head, causing the three of them to transform back into their human forms. "Prod the knot at the base of the Willow's trunk and it'll stop moving. Then just follow the tunnel."

They all smiled at one another, the blood rushing through their veins as they thought of what they'd be doing that night. Peter, after transforming back was slightly taken aback at Remus' agreement for the plan, and that night, was their first full moon.

The four stayed down in the dormitory and when they were ready, James pulled out the map and cloak, throwing it over himself and the other two boys, while Demi disillusioned herself. She followed the three of them out into the castle grounds and to the Whomping Willow. She focused her eyes and saw a small rat jump through the wild branches and press the knot and the tree stopped moving immediately.

They quickly clambered into the tunnel, leaving the map and the cloak in the entrance and crawled through the tunnel. It felt as though they'd been crawling for hours and hours, until they felt the tunnel rise and soon, they had pushed open a trap door, and were in the base of a tall, wooden shack. They each climbed out, and, upon entering, heard a loud howl and ripping noise from the upper level. The other three immediately transformed, and began to climb the stairs.

Sirius pushed the door at the top of the staircase open, and the four stopped looking at the scene in front of them. Remus had a snout, a long, thin body, already with a few scratches. The werewolf looked over at them, and completely abandoned the process of ripping the stuffing out of a sofa. He crawled towards them, his glowing eyes focusing on the stag first. He walked towards it, his hand outstretched. James growled and butted the hand away with his antlers. Remus then turned to Sirius, who bared his teeth. Remus glanced over the rat and turned to the last animal; Demi. He came close and had a hand hovering over her head. She growled and in one sudden movement, licked his hand in a comforting and friendly way.

Remus backed away slightly and she advanced walking slowly, her head held high, but in an unthreatening way. Remus crouched down and a second later, the pair were playing. Remus chased her around the room, and soon the others were joining in.

The games continued until James noticed that the sun was beginning to rise, and nodded over to the others, who knew what the time was. They all turned to Remus and nodded, before sliding towards the door.

Remus who'd been enjoying himself a few moments ago, had now gotten angry. He made a swipe at James, who was following Peter out of the room, and Demi quickly jumped in the way, snapping at his hand. She nodded to the others in a way that said _go, and I'll catch up_. James and Sirius seemed reluctant to leave, but after she moved threateningly towards them, they vanished.

She turned to face Remus and bared her teeth, nodding to the exit. She moved towards in once more, and he began to advance on her again. She sighed and transformed from her wolf-shape to her human form.

Remus, confused, made a swipe at her, which she dodged easily. She quickly jumped over his head, grabbing one of the wooden beams holding up the roof. She landed on the other side, and waited. Remus quickly turned around and advanced again, his hand outstretched. She quickly pounced and landed on top of him, knocking him off balance and immediately began to pat Remus on the head. "Stay here, okay? Stay." She got up and headed to the door, still facing Remus, who hopped onto all fours, his yellow eyes watching her every move. "Wait here," she said again, "Stay." Remus inclined his head slightly and, sat down on his haunches.

She quickly turned around and ran down the stairs and through the trapdoor, shutting it firmly before crawling back through the pathway. She saw the exit ahead after what felt like half an hour, and saw James, Peter, and Sirius waiting for her at the entrance.

"I told you to go without me" she said, as she picked up her wand and disillusioned herself.

She watched as they too, stood up and threw the cloak over themselves, and climbed carefully out of the Willow.

They walked in silence, Peter using the map to guide them past Peeves, Filch, Mrs. Norris, and some of the teachers. They clambered into the common room, and listened intently, but after a few minutes knew everyone was still asleep. They collapsed on the sofa, trying to catch their breath, and James turned to face her, "Did you really think we were just going to leave you there?" He asked.

"No, but you could have put yourself in serious danger. This isn't a joke Padfoot," she said, as Sirius attempted to slide in a pun.

Sirius' demeanor changed, "Hey, you were putting yourself in danger as well, okay? Don't lecture us," he retorted.

Peter sensed a fight about to break out and quickly spoke, "Maybe we should all just have a shower and get an hour's rest. We still have class today."

They all nodded in agreement and were soon tucked away in their beds, awoken after what felt like minutes, and forced to go to class.

Everyone could tell that the four of them hadn't gotten any sleep and were weary as they knew the four of them were already quite temperamental even after eight hours of sleep.

They managed to drag themselves out of the common room, where they found themselves slowly drifting off to sleep and to the Great Hall for some breakfast before heading off to History, which also meant a nice hour long nap.

Demi had her head resting on James' shoulder, nibbling on some toast, when she saw a shadow fall over her. "Ugh," she moaned, turning around. "What do you want?" she said, before realzing who was standing above her. "Oh, hi," she muttered.

"Hey," Jeremiah replied. "Can I talk to you alone?" he asked, nervously, as Sirius and James eyeballed him.

Demi half-shrugged, "Sure," she said, sliding off the bench and following him out of the hall and into one of the side rooms.

He turned to her and said, "I'm sorry for how I've been acting. I've taken some time to 'sort out my priorities' and I've realized that nothing really matters to me, unless you're with me. I really like you, and I don't want to throw this all away just for a small fight. I mean, we've been going out for almost two years, and a fight about time seems like a stupid thing to break up over." He took a deep breath, waiting for her response. Her face was unreadable for a few moments, and Jeremiah was beginning to lose hope that she'd get back together with him, until she broke into a smile.

She gave him a hug and a quick kiss. "I missed you too, and well, I think that we're really good together."

He squeezed her tighter and said, "I could tell you were still upset about our fight. It looks like you haven't slept in days. I'm just glad that you feel as strongly about this as I do." He let go and squeezed her hand tightly as they opened the door and headed back into the hall.

"Yeah, I do," she muttered, looking over the crowd of students who'd begun to eye them as they entered the Hall, noting that the pair were holding hands.

Jeremiah gave her another kiss before heading over to his table, a slight smirk on his face, while Demi quickly slipped back into her spot.

"What did he say?" James said, looking down at her, as she picked up her abandoned toast.

"Nothing, just fixed out problems is all," she replied, busying herself by pouring some juice in a goblet. She felt as though a million pounds of weight had been added to her shoulder. While she was happy that she and Jeremiah had sorted out their problems, she was secretly hoping that he would end it. She was beginning to feel as though their relationship wasn't much of a relationship, but more of a friendship with benefits. She was thinking about ending it, but soon, the thought was driven out of her mind as she fell asleep in class.

She dreamt that she was hanging out with Jeremiah, and the pair were walking around Hogsmeade holding hands and talking. But soon the hand felt different, and so the hand felt different and slightly rough, and the voice had changed into one she recognized: _"Love you,"_ it said. She looked up and saw Sirius standing next to her, speaking. Suddenly the dream changed and he had his hands wrapped around her, and was kissing her passionately.

She awoke with a jolt and noticed Lily prodding her in the shoulder, "We're going to be late to Transfiguration. I don't know what's gotten into you today . . ." Lily said, as Demi grabbed her stuff and followed her to the class, her thoughts still on the dream.

She wasn't paying much attention in any of her classes, and was waiting for the day to end. Not even a quick cup of tea with Hagrid was enough to keep her mind off of what had happened.

She headed back to the school, and just when she turned into the seventh floor corridor, doubled back and headed to the Library, hoping and praying.

She saw who she was looking for immediately. Remus was sitting alone, working furiously on the day's pile. She edged near him and quickly slid out a chair, sitting in front of him, and pulling out her stuff, "Moony, how are you?" she asked quietly.

"Good," he said looking up at her. "Did I hurt anyone last night?" he asked, to which she shook her head no. "Thank God," he said, smiling more now.

"How's Nirvana?" Demi asked conversationally.

"She's fine. Just haven't seen her between all the work, my furry little problem, and my prefect duties. But from what I hear, Amycus is giving her a hard time," he said. "Wish there was something I could do."

"Well, he and her sister are leaving this year, so there's that," she added, trying to give him some hope. He nodded and before he could return to his work, spoke softly, "I need to tell you something." She launched into the story and waited for Remus to show some reactions. "So, have any insights into my problem?" she asked. She rarely bothered anyone with her problems unless it was something serious, and in this case, she was completely lost.

"Well," Remus sighed, "It doesn't take a genius to tell that you don't want to be with Jeremiah anymore, based on the fact that you said 'being with him is like dragging around an elephant.' And based on your dream, I'd say that you have a thing for my fellow Marauder. Goes by the name of Padfoot?" he said, knowingly.

"Shit," Demi muttered, putting her head in her hands, "OHH, James is going to kill me . . ." she murmured.

Remus, who'd gone back to his work laughed, "Yeah he and I both. I've spent the past year and a half trying to get him to believe that Sirius and you are just friends."


	13. Foul Plays and Foul Friends

April and the first few weeks of May swung by within the blink of an eye, as did the full moons in both months. The students noticed that the Marauders were now exceptionally close, and anyone who was vying for a position as one, now had their hopes dashed. There were four of them that is true, for Demi was not masquerading under a name that made no sense, but she was seen as a fifth Marauder.

She, however, was becoming increasingly temperamental as the date of their OWLs came closer, and was seen less and less, for she, Lily, Remus and the other Gryffindors (minus the other three Marauders) were taking refuge in the library every waking minute that they weren't in class, revising everything they had ever done in class.

"So, when did we do the Levitation Charm?" Marlene asked, looking over at the others.

"Uh . . first year, I believe" said Lily.

"Yep," replied Demi, looking through the ingredients needed in certain potions and their properties. She wasn't too bad at Potions, but had taken to asking Lily for some help, as the redhead was their best potioneer, having succeeded in making the Polyjuice potion in their fourth year. "Why do you need to specify which way to stir a potion?"

"Cause if you don't, then the ingredients won't be mixed correctly, and it affects the ability of the potion to do what it needs to do," Lily replied dully, as she began on Transfiguration, which was easily her worst subject. She was currently seeking help from Remus.

The other three; Alice, Frank, and Kiaria were getting mini-lessons on Defence from Demi, who was the only one to manage all the spells they'd ever learnt perfectly. They had just finished a small little chat on the Patronus Charm, a question after which, she and Remus exchanged furtive looks.

It was around half past eight, when they all gathered their belongings and headed back up to the common room, Lily and Remus vanishing shortly after to patrol the corridors. Demiand the others took up residence at the largest table and began to revise, which was proving easy, until the other Marauders arrived.

"So, what's going on over here?" James asked, as Peter nibbled on the edge of a pastry. They'd clearly come from one of their adventures to the kitchens, and Demi saw the edge of the map sticking out of James' pocket, and a mass of cloth, stowed away beneath his robes. He pulled out a chair and sat down, looking at everyone in turn, "Hello?"

"What?" Frank asked, his face screwed up in concentration, as he attempted the Vanishing charm on his textbook. Frankw as the only one who still had trouble Vanishing things, which was odd considering that he was usually very good in all his subjects.

"Mate, you need to focus," said Sirius, taking Lily's unoccupied seat. He pulled out his wand and instructed Frank, with James' aid. "When you're vanishing something, just look at it and imagine it not even being there, you get it?"

Frank nodded, "I thinks so" he said. He picked up his wand, which he'd tossed away in anger after what was probably his fiftieth attempt, and flicked it, " _Evanseco."_ The textbook vanished, and a sigh of relief escaped Frank's lips, which Alice placed a kiss on seconds later.

"He's been at it for hours. Thanks you guys," she said, as she turned back to her work.

"Yeah, thanks" Frank said, putting his wand on the table and turning to face them, "So, what were you up to if you weren't in here studying?" he asked.

"Oh we were just going for a little walk," James said, as Sirius winked at Demi. She knew this meant that they'd found another passageway out of the castle and had just been out to explore where it lead to. The three of them got up quickly, and headed up to the Boy's Dormitory, returning moments later, with their stuff, joining the others.

"So where are we at in terms of revision?" Peter asked nervously. He had more cause than the others to be scared of the OWLs. He was barely passing his classes, and while Sirius and James could pull decent mars without any studying, Peter needed all the time he could get.

"Uh, we're all just reviewing. We've gone over everything," Demi said, flicking through the stack of parchment in front of her.

"So, you're practically done?" Sirius asked, as he and James pulled out their Defence textbooks. He pulled his open to a random page.

James' lay untouched as he gave it a look of disgust, "I hate Defence," he said, as he pried the book open. He hadn't used it all year.

Demi looked up at him, along with the others, "Might not like it, but it's dead useful," she said, raising an eyebrow at her brother.

"Yeah, I know we need it because it's a requirement, but who decided, 'hey let's make dark magic so that we can do evil things to one another?'" he asked her. The others stopped working, looking to Demi for her response.

She placed her quill down on the table, interlocked her fingers, and placed her head on her hands, staring at James. "Do you know what it efficiency is?" she asked. Everyone looked slightly taken aback at the question.

James nodded, "Yeah, I think I'm familiar with that process," he replied, cocking an eyebrow at her. Slowly the noise of the room, dropped as everyone began to listen in on the debate, that was surely about to happen.

"Well, when someone want to do something, and they want to do it fast, they'll find the quickest way to do it." She paused, "Now, this new way of doing something becomes that person's go to for that situation." The others nodded, "Now just imagine it becomes this new thing, and suddenly everyone's using it. But someone says 'hey, this can be used to solve another problem.' They go off on a tangent and use this idea to do something it wasn't designed for. The same thing goes for magic." Here she drew a breath and picked up her wand, "Let's start with the darkest spell of them all; Avada Kedavra. It was originally created to efficiently kill of one's opponent in a duel." She took a breath, "the spell does what it does, it kills you. You get hit, you're dead. The only thing that's changed since it was created in the 1400's is the _way it is used_. Now, people like Voldemort (here everyone in the room shuddered, gasped, or jumped) are using it to kill anyone he doesn't like. Not because he's in a duel, and not because it's fun to say, but because it's efficient. He can kill the person, and just leave it at that." She let the information sink in, "The person that created that spell probably didn't know how many people were going to abuse that power. It wasn't meant to be an unforgivable curse, it was just meant to simplify things."

Everyone was silent at these words, including Remus and Lily who'd returned midway through Demi's explanation and were standing by the door.

"Well then," Demi said, nodding to Lily and Remus, "I'm heading off to bed, we've got a game to win tomorrow guys," She punched the air and everyone in the room gave a cheer. "Ah, we're going to crush Slytherin," she said, before gathering her things and heading up the stairs.

The occupants of the room began to talk once more, while Lily and Remus made their way to the table. Lily sat on the other side, with Alice, Frank, Marlene, and Peter between her and James, who was attempting to catch her eye, "Interesting stuff, eh Evans?" he asked, while the others shook their head and smiled at his lame attempt for her attention.

Lily shook her head and began to do her work.

"She really knows her stuff, though, doesn't she?" Marlene asked the others, who nodded. "I mean, it's almost like she's actually been there, you know?"

The others shifted slightly in their seats, clearly uncomfortable with telling Marlene why Demi knew so much about the Dark Arts. While many people assumed that she was simply adopted by Dumbledore as a child, and then by the Potters a few years later, none of them new of the ordeal she'd gone through mere months before beginning her first year. She'd only told the others because she knew they'd find out at some point, and she'd really preferred not lying to any of them.

"Yeah, it's no wonder she and Severus are the top of the year," James said vaguely, trying to interest himself in his Defence book.

They woke up early that Saturday morning, trying to make sure they were all completely awake for the game in a few hours' time. Demi had gone for a stroll round the castle, accompanied by Nearly Headless Nick. James (playing with the snitch), Sirius (who was nursing a stubbed toe from his bedpost), and Remus (who'd been woken up by Sirius' gasp of pain followed by a flurry of swear words) were lounging around in the common room, while Kiaria (who had to be physically picked up and carried downstairs by Demi) snored away on the sofa. 

"Marlene's been asking lots of questions," James spoke softly, looking into the empty fireplace.

"Yeah well, she was bound to though, wasn't she?" Sirius replied. "Doesn't really understand the whole, 'hey, don't broach the topic' silence, does she?"

The game started at around eleven, and the students half dragged themselves and half ran away from the piles of homework that haunted their lives. The Gryffindors sat in the changing room, on the receiving end of one of Wood's long speeches.

"Now, we're at the top, that's for sure. But just so you know, we're going to have to give this game our all. Our energy, our strength, our skills, and our lives." He gazed around the room, ignoring the look of concern he was getting from his teammates. "I have faith in this team, just like Mark did. We're going to win, and I know it. We might not have practiced as much as we wanted, what with the majority of our team being in their fifth year, but that doesn't matter. We've spent almost five years together, honing our skills, and getting to know one another. We've got a bond that no one can break. We're more than a team of Quidditch players," he paused before saying, "We're a family of Quidditch players." He beamed at all of them as they cheered. He stood up and they followed suit, heading through the little path and into the pitch. Wood shouldered his beater's bat, as his hand gripped his broom firmly. The marched out on the field, the sun beating down on the pitch and burning their eyes. A huge cheer was emitted from the crowd.

Three quarters of the stadium was a mass of gold and red, while a small sliver of green and silver was settled in intervals through the pitch. Demi looked up and saw Amos at the microphone, "THIS IS IT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. THE FINAL MATCH OF THE SEASON, BETWEEN THE TWO LARGEST RIVALS IN THE SCHOOL, GRYFFINDOR AND SLYTHERIN!" Everyone was cheering, and McGonagall's voice was the loudest of them all, screeching to the top of her lungs.

"WELL, THE CROWD CERTAINLY SEEMS TO BE LOVING THE SUSPENSE. AND HERE THEY COME, THE SLYTHERIN TEAM," a small, yet audible cheer was heard from the silver and green parts of the pitch as the seven players headed out on the field. "THE SLYTHEIRN TEAM AT 340 POINTS, IS LEAD BY CAPTIAN PARKINSON, AND HIS FELLOW CHASERS CARROW AND WILKES, THEIR BEATERS GOYLE AND AVERY, AND THEIR SEEKER TRAVERS. AND ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PITCH, ARE IS THE GRYFFINDOR TEAM," the rest of the stadium shook as a huge roar was emitted from the crowd. "AT 410 POINTS, THE GRYFFINDOR TEAM IS IN THE LEAD BY SEVENTY. THEY ARE LEAD BY THEIR CAPTAIN AND BEATER WOOD . . . WHO SEEMS TO BE HAVING A MAJOR EPISODE ON THE PITCH . . ." Amos said, looking at Wood, who was waving his beater's bat with such enthusiasm, the other members lingered behind, trying to dodge the maniacal movements.

Wood let out a huge scream, "THIS IS GRYFFINDOR!" He yelled, waving the bat around wildly with one hand and pounding his chest with the other, his broom in Sherrie's hand. A huge cheer was heard from the crowd and Wood kept screaming.

Amos shook his head and continued, "YES, WELL DONE GRYFFINDOR. FOLLOWING CLOSELY BEHIND IS GRYFFINDOR'S OTHER BEATER BLACK, KEEPER LIEKS, CHASERS POTTER, VERDANA, AND HOPKIRK, AND THEIR SEEKER DUMBLEDORE!"

The cheers kept on going until Madam Hooch stepped out on to the field, carrying the equipment, her whistle dangling on her chest. Parkinson and Wood met in the middle of the pitch and shook hands, staring daggers at one another, before turning around and heading back to their teammates.

"Remember, catch the snitch when we're fifty up," Wood reminded Demi, who was too tired of having to remind him that she knew what to do, and simply nodded. He looked to the others, "for Gryffindor."

"For Gryffindor," they replied, the determination for the win was etched on their faces. They turned to face Madam Hooch, who released the bludgers, and the snitch. "I want a clean game, from all of you," she said, her yellow eyes lingering on the Slytherin team for a moment longer that Gryffindor. "Mount your brooms," she said.

With a final nod the Gryffindors mounted their brooms and headed to their positions.

"NOW FOR THE MOMENT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR, THE QUAFFLE IS RELEASED, AND THE GAME BEGINS!" Amos yelled into the microphone, as everyone cheered. "PARKINSON GETS AHOLD OF THE QUAFFLE AND REVERSE PASSES TO CARROW, AND IT'S INTERCEPTED BY HOPKIRK, WHO PASSES TO POTTER, WHO DODGES A CLOSE BLUDGER THERE, AND OOHH, DROPS THE QUAFFLE. WILKES IN POSSESSION, AND AHH, HE FUMBLES AT THAT LAUNCH, QUICKLY SWEPT ASIDE BY LIEKS, WHO PASSES TO POTTER, WHO GETS IT MIDWAY AND PASSED BACK TO VERDANA, AND SHE'S BEING CORNERED BY GOYLE AND AVERY, WHO KNOCK HER OFF HER BROOM! WHAT THE HELL? A DIRTY MOVE LIKE THAT EARNS THE SLYTHERINS A PENATLY, TAKEN BY HOPKIRK, WHO SCORES! 1O-O IS THE SCORE AND THE STADUIM IS WILD! BACK TO CENTRE FIELD AND CARROW WITH THE QUAFFLE, HE PASSES TO PARKINSON, WHO GETS KNOCKED OFF HIS BROOM BY BLACK, WELL DONE THERE GRYFFINDOR. THE QUAFFLE FALLS, AND IS TAKEN BY WILKES WHO HIS HEADING OVER TO THE GRYFFINDOR SIDE OF THE PITCH, HE AIMS, HE SHOOTS, AND HE SCORES. TYING THEM AT 10-10! THE CROWD ISN'T HAPPY ABOUT THAT. AND VERDANA WITH THE QUAFFLE, GETS IT TO POTTER, WHO AIMS AND FIRES, STRAIGHT INTO THE CENTRE HOOP FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE PITCH, 20-10. COME ON MULCIBER, THIS ISNT AMATEUR NIGHT!" Amos said, laughing as the Slytherins booed. "AND HOPKIRK WITH THE QUAFFLE, AND HE ALMOST IS UNSEATED BY A BLUDGER FROM AVERY, WHO LOOKS REAL MAD. HE FUMBLES AND-OOH, CARROW IN POSSESSION, WHICH IS SWIFTLY CHANGED TO HOPKIRK ONCE MORE, AND NOW VERDANA, HEADING TO THE PITCH, SHE SHOOTS, AND SHE SCORES, 30-10. SLYTHERIN IS NOT HAVING FUN WITH THIS. AND THEY AIM TO CHANGE THIS BY HAVING PARKINSON IN POSSESSION, PASSES TO CARROW, WHO DIVES RIGHT BY POTTER, AND PASSES TO WILKES WHO SCORES, 30-20. AAH, SLYTHERIN BEGINNING TO BRING OUT THEIR A-GAME, NO? AND WILKES IN POSSESSION ONCE MORE, PASSES TO PARKINSON, BUT IT'S INTERCEPTED BY VERDANA, WHO CHANGES DIRECTION TAKES IT STRAIGHT AND PUTS ANOTHER ONE IN FOR GRYFFINDOR, 40-20. AND LOOK OVER THERE, BY THE GRYFFINDOR END OF THE PITCH, IT SEEMS THE SLYTHEIRN SEEKER HAS SEEN SOMETHING! HE DIVES, PAST DUMBLEORE, TO THE GROUND, AND OH, NO IT'S JUST SOME MUD. AND HOPKIRK POTTER USE THIS DIVERSION TO PUT ANOTHER TWO AWAY FOR GRYFFINDOR, MAKING THE SCORE 60-20. ANOTHER TEN AND THEY'RE IN THE LEAD FOR SURE! WE'RE OFF ONCE MORE, PARKINSON IN POSSESSION, BUT HE SEEMS TO BE ELSEWHERE, YELLING AT TRAVERS FOR BEING AN IDIOT, WHICH IS PERFECTLY UNDERSTANDABLE. POTTER SWOOPS BY, TAKES THE QUAFFLE FROM PARKINSON'S OUTSTREACHED HAND- COME ONE, GIVE 'EM A REAL GAME, MATE. AND POTTER SCORES, MAKING THE GAME AT 70-20. AAH, IT SEEMS AS THOUGH DUMBLEDORE'S SPOTTED SOMETHING, AND IT'S THE SNITCH! WELL, AT LEAST ONE SEEKER IS DOING THEIR JOB RIGHT, AND SHE DODGES A BLUDGER FROM GOYLE WITH AN EXCELLENT SLOTH GRIP ROLL, AND SHE'S OFF. RIGHT BY THE MIDDLE OF THE PITCH ONCE MORE, TRAVER'S FOLLOWING CLOSELY BEHIND, AND OH, THEY'RE NECK IN NECK NOW. DUMBLEDORE'SREALLY USING HER YEARS OF TRAINING FOR GOOD USE! THE SNITCH HEADS BACK UP, OVER TRAVERS' HEAD, AS DOES DUMBLEDORE, AAAAAAND THEY'VE DONE IT. DUMBLEDORE'S GOT THE SNITCH. IT'S ALL OVER FOR SLYTHERIN, LADIES AND GENTS GRYFFINDOR WIN THE QUIDDITCH CUP!" Amos quickly abandoned the podium as did McGonagall who had tears in her eyes and glistening down her cheeks. The staff, along with the huge red and gold mass from the stands headed out on to the pitch, where the two teams had just landed. The Gryffindors looked ecstatic and were clapping one another on the back, while the Slytherins skulked away in defeat, seeking refuge in their locker room.

The huge flurry swept up the team and the Cup was passed around from member to member, who hoisted it up over their head to the delight of the crowd, who had them on their shoulders. Demi was immediately met by Jeremiah, who much to the woos of the crowd, planted a kiss firmly on her lips. James and Sirius were too busy being carried out of the stadium to care. After a while, when they'd reached the castle, the crowd slowly dispersed, and everyone from Gryffindor knew there would be a party to celebrate. The team members rushed up through the hustle and bustle of the stairs, receiving praise form the other students, and headed straight to the showers, where twenty minutes later they emerged feeling slightly tired, but still euphoric.

Remus and Peter had used that time to make a few quick trips to the Kitchens to stock up for the party, which was already beginning to get underway; music was blaring out of the enchanted megaphone that Alice, Frank, and Marlene had smuggled out of the Room of Requirement a few hours prior. Bottles of butterbeer were sitting on the tables, accompanied by heaping trays of food. Sirius and James made a beeline for the food, while Demi plucked two bottles of butterbeer from the table, and headed over to Kiaria who was beginning to feel a little pain from the bruise she'd received during the game.

"Well, that was one hell of a game" Marlene said, sitting on Kiaria's left side. "I can't wait for next year, she said, getting up and going over to congratulate the guys, who were swarmed by the ladies of Gryffindor house, and a few of the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, who'd been invited.

Amidst the flurry of students that had poured through the portrait emerged Jeremiah, who headed over to where Demi and Kiaria were sitting. "Amazing flying, you two" he said, fist-bumping Kiaria, and throwing an arm over Demi's shoulder. She passed him a butterbeer and he uncorked it, draining at least half of it before his lips moved from the bottle to Demi's.

Lily smirked before taking a moment to fully listen to the music that was playing, "nope, we need better" she said. She disappeared up to the girl's dormitory and emerged a few minutes later with an album entitled _Queen: News of the World_. She gave Demi a mischievous smile before heading over to the huge gramophone and plucked the current disc out and put in the new one.

The crowd groaned for the few moments that there was silence, and a moment later, the muggleborns and half-bloods began to cheer as the beat and claps from _We Will Rock You_ began to play. Slowly everyone took up the chant, stomping and singing along. Some of the ghosts even popped in and out, watching the crowd get riled up with smiles on their faces.

Sirius was especially into it, and was belting out the lyrics louder than everyone, and had abandoned his butterbeer to play air guitar. The students began to laugh as he thrashed around and was soon joined by Wood, who was clearly energized and slightly buzzed on the firewhiskey he was drinking. When the pair finished, they both shook hands and took a bow, as _We Are the Champions_ played next.

Demi and Jeremiah were among those who were messing around and dancing. Surprisingly, Lily's mood was so good, that she actually agreed to share a dance with James. The other Marauders and the rest of the Gryffindors were rubbing their eyes, unable to believe what they were seeing.

"Well, there's something that I'd never thought I'd see?" Frank said, as Alice nodded, too shocked to speak.

"This isn't possible," Kiaria muttered, shaking her head in awe.

"Everything I know is a lie," Peter said, taking a gulp of butterbeer. The others turned to face him, their faces blank for a moment before they began to laugh.

The party kept raging on and on, and soon, the music was beginning to determine the mod. Lily acted as their official DJ, and was changing the discs whenever she felt like the crowd needed a change. Suddenly, she began to play _She's Got Balls_ buy AC/DC and suddenly, everything seemed to go out of control Kiaria, who was standing with Lily by the gramophone suddenly went still and made a beeline over to Marlene, who was dancing with Peter. Peter, bowed out of the way and a second later, Kiaira had planted a kiss on Marlene, who was giggling and blushing furiously. The entire common room went wild and soon everyone was cheering them on.

It was around twelve when the part began to die out, as the students realized that they had class the next morning. The younger Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs left first, followed by the older people. Some of the older Gryffindors, led the students out, a few at a time, making sure everyone got back safely and weren't wandering the halls alone.

The Quidditch members head all headed up to bed, and soon it was just Alice, Frank, Lily, Marlene, Kiaria, Remus, and Peter who were the only fifth years left. Some of the older Gryffindors were still milling around, hiding the Butterbeer around the room, and chatting before heading up. They too were about to head up the stairs and go to bed, when the portrait door swung open and one of the older seventh year Gyrffindor's ran inside, her eyes wide and looking frightened and panicked. "IT'S MARY! SHE'S BEEN ATTACKED!" The students in the common room quickly jumped up and pulled out their wands, following the girl out of the room and down to where the Hufflepuff common room was. They turned a corridor and what they saw frightened them.

Mary was lying in the middle of the hallway, her eyes rolling in their sockets, her limbs twitching, as she slid around the floor of the corridor, possessed. They were all shocked and a few of the older students headed down the corridor to find the person who'd done it.

A huge bang was heard from behind the crowd, and Dumbledore appeared, with Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall at his side. The crowd parted to let the three teachers through, and Dumbledore bent over the girl, looking down at her flailing body. He whipped out his wand and muttered a few spells, and slowly Mary's body began to relax and soon the girl's eyes were closed in peace.

Professor McGonagall conjured up a stretcher and loaded the Gryffindor on it, and Madam Pomfrey levitated it up and out the corridor.

The two professors turned to the crowd and asked, "Did any of you see what happened?" McGonagall asked, her lip quivering.

A short sixth year Hufflepuff emerged from the crowd and nodded, "It was those two Slytherin Quidditch players, Mulciber and Avery. They pulled out their wands and shot some curses out at Mary, none of which I recognized. They were with some other Slytherin kid, with a long nose, pale skin, and greasy hair."

Dumbledore bent down, "Did you see where they ran to?" he asked.

She nodded and said they'd gone down the other end of the corridor, "I think a few of the older students went after 'em," she finished.

McGongall surveyed the crowd, "Go straight back to your dormitories and stay there." She and Dumbledore headed down to the other end of the corridor and vanished.

Slowly the crowd dispersed and soon the fifth year's found themselves back in the common room. Without saying a word, they all headed up to their dormitories.

Lily found it quite hard to sleep that night. The words of the Hufflepuff girl were echoing inside her head: _They were with some other Slytherin kid, with a long nose, pale skin, and greasy hair._

They were with Severus.


	14. Pre-OWLs

**This is sort of an interlude chapter. It's short, and it's just to tide everyone over for the next chapter, which will probably be out early Sunday morning at the latest.**

It was Sunday, the seventh of June.

Also known to the fifth years as . . .

"It's OWL time, it's OWL time!" yelled one of the sixth year Gryffindors, leaping over a table and annoying the crap out of the fifth years (the seventh years had managed to hide out in one of the empty classrooms to study).

The young man's friend was following behind him, "HOOT HOOT MOTHER*******!" he yelled, leaping around with his friend. The pair began to irritate the fifth years at their table.

While Demi and Remus had their fingers in their ears, reading over the past four years of Charms notes, Lily and the others exchanged exasperated looks, before she stood up, pulled out her wand, and gave them both withering looks. "Sit your ass down now, or never sit again!" she whispered threateningly. The two boys gulped and sat down on the sofa, not daring to speak.

Lily walked back to the table and sat down, resuming her 'studying position.' A moment later, she stood up and sighed, "I can't focus."

Kiaria got up as well, "Fancy a walk?" she asked Lily, who nodded. The pair headed out of the room, and soon the other two boys began chatting animatedly.

A moment or so later, Sirius, Peter, and James wandered in to the common room, sitting at the table next to the others, "Well, what we have got here Prongs?" Sirius asked, looking over Alice's shoulder to see what she was doing. "Charms, eh?" he asked.

Alice gave him a tired look, "Well obviously. We have out Charms exam tomorrow. I don't know about you but I think I'd like to pass this year."

Sirius and James laughed heartily, much to the annoyance of Remus, who shot them a threatening look. "What?" James asked, "We're prepared, right Padfoot?"

"Indeed," Sirius replied, turning to face James, "If anyone needs to study it's Wormtail."

Peter gave Sirius a dirty look before heading up to the dormitory to get his Charms books. James and Sirius continued to talk, and soon everyone except Demi and Remus had decided to head over to the library (the pair having become accustomed to the other two boys).

Peter returned a few moments later, holding his book and looking at the almost empty table questioningly, "Where'd everyone go?" he asked.

"Library," James replied, as he fiddled with his wand, before moving over to share Remus' table. "You using this?" he asked, nudging the Charms book that lay abandoned in the middle of the table Remus shook his head no, and James picked it up, flicking through it. He turned back and noticed Sirius looking around the room aimlessly. "Mate, we've got to study. Remember that deal with my parents?"

Sirius looked as though he'd been forced to swallow something, and nodded, sitting next to James, and the pair shared the book.

"Charms should be easy enough for you, you're top of the class," Kiaria said, looking at Lily, who seemed slightly flustered by the upcoming exam.

The pair were walking aimlessly down through the fourth floor, and were trying to come up with things to talk about that wouldn't involve mentioning their OWLs. Problem was, everything seemed to be connected to their exams.

Lily groaned, "I'm only good in that class because I study so much," she explained for the umpteenth time that day. She was getting tired of the others thinking that she just pulled good marks from thin air, rather than earning them. It reminded her of the things that Petunia and Vernon had said to her during the Christmas break.

Just then, they were met by a harassed Sturgis Podmore, Xenophillius Lovegood, and Pandora Nebula, all of whom were sporting tired looks, and heavy bags under their eyes. "So, how many hours of review are you doing?" Sturgis asked the pair.

Lily and Kiaria looked taken aback, "Uh, I don't know . . ." Kiaria said, looking inquiringly at Lily.

"Haven't been keeping track," she said. "You?" Lily asked.

"Ten, each day," he replied proudly, looking over at Xeno and Pandora who nodded.

"Just heading off to the library for another round of review. Just want it to be over honestly," Xeno added.

"How're you managing to fit all this in?" Lily asked politely, as Kiaria sighed, wanting to get away from the interview.

"Haven't gotten around to sleeping in a while," Pandora admitted. "Just been helping a few of the others, but I can say this; I hope that the practical goes well, better than theory though."

This time it was Kiaria who lengthened the conversation, "What do you mean?"

The three Ravenclaws exchanged looks, "Well, how is theory going to prepare us for what's out there?" Xeno replied.

Lily and Kiaria broke out into smiles, which was odd considering that they hadn't done so since they'd won the Quidditch Cup, "But you're Ravenclaws, surely you'd believe in the opposite."

It was turn for the other three to laugh, "We might be more concerned with facts, but that doesn't mean we don't know what's more important," Sturgis said.

" _Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure,_ " Pandora said, in a sing-song voice.

Everyone turned to face her, and Sturgis checked the time on his watch, his eyes widened in shock. "No, we've got to get going. I'm only going to get nine hours in!" he yelled, bolting past them, the other two hurrying along in his wake.

Kairia raised an eyebrow, "Strange lot, aren't they?" she asked, nodding at the trio.

"You've no idea" Lily said, looking at Pandora and Xeno, who'd just left through the door.

They shook their heads and continued to go along the corridor. "We'll head back in ten minutes. Then we'll have time for another hour of studying and then dinner," Lily said, checking her watch.

The pair walked in silence for a few minutes before they heard giggling. They exchanged curious looks and walked round the corridor, clapping their hands to their mouths, and quickly turning around, hoping that they weren't seen. They ran down to the end of the hall, pushed the door open, and went out to the main staircase, which-thankfully- was empty.

"Did you-," Lily began, her eyes wide, attempting to catch her breath as she and Kiaria headed up the stairs and back to the common room.

"Yeah, I did. But I really wish I hadn't," she interjected. They jogged up the last few steps and into the seventh floor corridor. Suddenly Lily felt Kiaira pull her to the side of the hallway. "Do we tell her?" Kiaria asked.

Lily nodded, "Obviously. She needs to know. Are you telling me that you wouldn't want us to do the same thing for you?" she asked.

Kiaria considered this, "I would, but she'd got her OWLs. The last thing we need is to completely throw her off track. Maybe we should just stave of telling her until they're finished."

Lily looked slightly shocked, but soon the expression changed to one of understanding and solemnness. "Okay, but the least we should do is make sure she doesn't spend too much time with him now. That'll just make things harder for her, especially when you consider that they just solved the last problem."

The pair stood in the hallway debating for another five minutes before they heard someone coming from the stairs. They quickly kept walking, their heads down, and marched straight up to the portrait, muttering the password, and headed back into the room, making a beeline for their stuff and looked around at the room.

"Where is everyone?" Kiaria asked, looking at the seats that were previously occupied by Alice and Frank. She sat down and tugged her Charms textbook, notes, and wand towards her.

"Library," Sirius said, not bothering to look up.

Lily and Kiaria exchanged one more look, before going back to their work, only stopping when they found out that it was time for dinner.

They all traipsed down the stairs, Lily and Kiaria ignored the sinking feeling in their stomachs. The fifth years tried to eat, but, as Sirius put it, "Everything tastes like cardboard," he said, putting his fork down.

The others nodded, too tired to respond verbally until Frank spotted something, "They're here." He stated, nodding over to the open doors of the Great Hall, where Dumbledore was shaking hands with a few old looking witches and wizards.

Lily dropped her spoon, her face pale, "Those are the examiners?" she asked, nervously.

Frank nodded, "the old lady shaking Dumbledore's hand? That's Griselda Marchbanks. She and my mother are friends."

The others turned to look at him, "So, you've an inside woman?" Marlene asked, trying to make a joke. No one laughed, for the arrival of the examiners meant their exams were finally upon them.

Too nervous to eat any more, they all headed back upstairs, for a few more hours of studying before they called it a night.

They began to work more on the practical for the charms, the words of Podmore and Xeno echoing in Kiaria and Lily's heads.

By 9, everyone had headed upstairs for some sleep (when in actuality they all were up till 3 in the morning, too worried about their exams), except for Kiaira and Lily, who used the empty common room for another session.

"You sure we shouldn't tell her?" Lily asked once more, her eyes showing her anxiety. She undid the locomotion charm on her pencil case.

Kiaira sighed, "It's like I told you. We shouldn't tell her this, it'll mess her up for her exams, and let's not forget, the girl wants to be an Auror! She needs top grades for that."

While the pair were bickering, they didn't notice another person heading back down the stairs, watching the two debate.

Remus stood by the last step of the staircase and was watching, his mouth wide open. It wasn't until he sneezed that the pair noticed his presence.

"Shit!" Kiaria said, banging her head on the table.

Lily looked at Remus nervously and waved, "What's up?"

His eyes narrowed, "I could ask you the same," he said, raising an eyebrow questioningly. He came towards the table and sat down, his head in his hands, "Why won't you tell Demi that Jeremiah's cheating on her with Christine Wilcoz?"


	15. OWLs

They all awoke early the next morning, and silently trooped downstairs and headed to the Great Hall, for a spot of breakfast. It was a quiet affair, as the fifth years headed into the hall, giving and receiving signs of support from the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws.

Lily looked beside herself, and was constantly checking and re-checking facts in her charms textbook, much to the annoyance of Demi who had to keep leaning back as she grabbed her bag from under the table.

"Just keep it up here then," Demi said irritably, chucking the book on to the table, next to Lily, who was feverishly looking back and forth from her notes to the book.

Sirius and James exchanged smirks, as they slowly at their toast. It wasn't until the end of breakfast, that they were shuttled into the Atrium to wait for the exam hall to be set up.

"Ready?" James asked, nudging Sirius in the ribs.

"Yeah, M'fine. You?" he responded.

"Brilliant," James replied, looking anywhere but at Sirius. The pair stood in silence, along with the other students, most of whom were whispering facts under their breath, as they waited.

Suddenly, they all jumped as the doors swung open and Professor Flitwick stood before them, "Your names are on the desks, which are all in alphabetical order. You have been provided with quills, ink, and spare parchment. Should you need more, there is some at the desk on the dais. Please find your seat and sit down, and DO NOT flip the test over until I say." He moved out of the way and the students slowly teetered into the room, glancing around nervously, looking for their names.

Eventually, once everyone was seated, the exam had begun.

 **Lily**

 _Okay, first question, "Give a) the incantation and b) the want movement used to levitate objects." Lily broke into a smile, as she bent over her parchment and began to write._

 **Demi**

 _Alright question 2, "What is the main purpose of the substantive charm?" . . . Okay, I got this, this'll be fine._

 **James**

 _Oka, I spent half my weekend studying. I should be fine, it's charms. He looked at the paper "What is the main purpose of the substantive charm?" Well, it can be used to solidify ghosts like Peeves so you can drop a statue on their head._

 **Sirius**

 _Oh, f***._

 **Remus**

 _Alright, first question . . . Wingardium Leviosa . . . Swish and Flick. Oh, this isn't so bad, he thought as he went through circling, filling out blanks, and writing paragraph long explanations._

 **Peter**

 _He sat there and nibbled his nails, flicking through the page of the exam, not touching his quill. It wasn't until the last moment possible that he finally began to write, having noticed that the majority of the people around him were on the last few pages._

 **Kiaria**

 _So, this is how it's going to be? Charms isn't too bad, I should be fine . . . she flicked to the next page. Okay, she muttered, I definitely don't remember doing that Charm. . ._

 **Marlene**

 _When the hell did I learn this?_

 **Frank**

 _I'll be fine . . . It's like Mum always said, 'Charms is a soft subject.'_

 **Alice**

 _Where's Lily when you need her?_

Finally, two hours later, when the exam was complete, the students were all shoveled into the atrium once more, as the Great Hall was once again transformed into a place for lunch.

"How do you think you did?" Lily asked looking at the others.

"Fine," the majority replied, hoping that their lack of response would mean that they wouldn't have to hear Lily give a detailed account of all the questions, as well as reviewing her answers.

The only one who seemed at all interested in this process was Remus, who joined in the session. The pair kept on reviewing their answers, groaning when they'd gotten one wrong. This went on for the entire lunch period until they were shepherded into a small room off the Hall, waiting to be called in, one by one, for their practical exam.

Sirius was the first of the lot to be called out, "Good luck you lot." He said, before heading out the door.

"Good luck" said the others, James waving as though they'd never meet again.

Soon everyone had vanished and judging by the fact that none had returned, they were probably being sent out of the Hall after their exam. The last two to remain were Kiaira and James, who was called out at last, "Good luck," he said, walking up the stairs.

"Good luck," Kiaria replied.

"Charms: Done" James said in a singsong voice as they all sat huddled once again in the common room, this time studying for Herbology, which was a soft subject in the eyes of everyone else.

They continued to study, taking a break only for dinner. Kiaira, Remus and Lily kept exchanging shift looks, which were going unnoticed by the others, who were too immersed with their editions of _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_.

The routine was monotonous, that was until Thursday's Defence exam. The hall was filled with tables, the only sounds was the scratching of quills and the occasional rustle as somebody adjusted their parchment.

Sunshine was streaming though the high windows onto the bent heads, searing the backs of their necks. James, who'd just finished writing the last bit of his exam, pulled the parchment towards him, reviewing everything he'd written. Pleased with his answer, he placed it back on the table, yawning hugely (as he'd spent the early hours of the morning cramming in some last minutes studying) rumpling up his hair as he did so. He snuck a glance at Flitwick, who was wandering off at the other side of the hall, and used the teacher's absence to sneak a glance at Sirius, giving him the thumbs up sign.

Sirius, who'd finished about twenty odd minutes ago (curtsy of Demi who was sitting across the aisle, and unknowingly giving him a glimpse of her answers, and was now resting with her head on her desk), was lounging in his chair, tilting it back on two legs, his arms crossed behind his head.

Behind him sat Marlene, who was still annoyed at him for disturbing her as she studied, and was sincerely hoping with all her heart that his chair would topple over and crash. Sirius smirked, rolling his eyes and mouthing the word 'easy.'

The pair took a glance over at Remus, who was looking slightly peaky, reviewing his answers, and hoping that his short paragraph on Red Caps would be sufficient enough for full marks. He sartched his chin with the end of his quill, and hunched over once more to add to the paragraph.

Peter was sitting around, looking anxious as ever. He'd thought that the Charms exam was horrible, but this was by far beginning to seem the worst. He scuffed the floor with his shoes, and snuck a glance over at his neighbour's paper, whenever Flitwick wasn't looking.

James, who'd nearly been caught looking at Sirius, was now doodling on a scrap of parchment.

"Quills down, please!" Professor Flitwick squeaked. Demi jumped, looking around wildly, almost forgetting where she was. Sirius smirked at her, and she tuck her tongue out in response. "That means you too, Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment! Accio!"

More than a hundred rolls of parchment zoomed into the air, knocking the stout wizard off his feet. While some laughed, others helped the poor man up and back to his feet again.

"Thank you," Professor Flitwick panted, "Very well everybody, you're free to go."

James jumped to his feet and stuffed his quill and exam question paper into his bag, before waiting for Sirius to join him.

"Did you like question ten Moony?" asked Sirius as they made their way into the enterance hall.

"Loved it," Remus said briskly, "'Give five signs that identify the werewolf.' Excellent question."

"D'you think you managed to get all the signs?" said James in tones of mock concern.

"Think I did," said Remus seriously, and they joined the crowd that was heading out into the sun filled grounds. "One: He's sitting on my chair. Two: He's wearing my clothes. Three: His name's Remus Lupin . . ."

"I got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes, and the tufted tail," Peter interjected, "but I couldn't think of what else-"

"How thick are you, Wormtail?" said James impatiently, "You run round with a werewolf once a month-"

"Keep your voice down," implored Remus, eyeing the other students warily.

The four of them strode off down the lawn towards the lake. "Well, that was a piece of cake," Sirius said, "I wouldn't be surprised if I don't get Outstanding on it at least."

"Me too," said James, as he dug around in his pocket, pulling out a Golden Snitch.

"Where'd you get that?" Sirius asked.

"Nicked it," said James casually. He started playing with the snitch, testing his reflexes, and ignoring the looks of awe Wormtail was giving him.

They stopped under the beech tree, and threw themselves down onto the grass. The other Gryffindor girls, minus Demi were dipping their feet into the lake, cooling their feet.

Remus pulled out his Transfiguration book, and began to prepare for the next exam: Transfiguration. Sirius stared down the other students who were milling over the grass, looking rather haughty and bored. James continued to play with the Snitch, letting it zoom farther and farther ("for the extra challenge," he said once before).

Wormtail was watching him, mouth open, and applauded James when he'd made a difficult catch. James continued to shoot furtive glances at the girls by the lake and rumpled up his hair as he did so.

"Put that away, will you?" Sirius said finally, as James made a fine catch and Wormtail let out a high-pitched cheer, "Before Wormtail wets himself from excitement."

Wormtail turned pink, as James grinned, stuffing the Snitch in his pocket, "If it bothers you."

"I'm bored," said Sirius, "Wish it was full moon."

"You might," said Remus darkly, from behind his book. "We've still got Transfiguration, if you're bored you could test me . . . here." He held out his book.

Sirius glanced at the textbook and snorted, "I don't need to look at that rubbish, I know it all."

"This'll liven you up, Padfoot," muttered James, quietly. "Look who it is . . ."

Sirius turned his head, and suddenly became very still, like a dog that had scented a rabbit. "Excellent," he said softly, "Snivellus."

Severus was on his feet, stuffing the OWL paper in his bag. As he got up and headed across the grass, Sirius and James stood up. Remus was still staring at his book, but was more intent on listening to the exchange between Sirius, James and Severus.

"All right, Snivellus?" said James loudly. The pair of them had been waiting for an opportunity to get back at Severus for helping to attack Mary McDonald.

Severus quickly dropped his bag, pulling out his wand. However, James had beaten him to the punch, "Expelliarmus."

Severus' wand flew into the air and landed on the grass behind him. Sirius let out a bark of laughter, as he pulled his own wand out.

"Impedimenta!" he yelled, pointing his wand at Severus, who was knocked off his feet, halfway through a dive towards his own fallen wand.

Students that had previously been wandering around aimlessly, had turned to watch. Some of them had gotten to their feet and were edging nearer to watch, some apprehensive, some entertained.

Severus lay panting on the ground as James and Sirius advanced, James glancing over at Lily, who was still sitting by the edge of the lake, having spent the last few weeks ignoring Severus due to his involvement in Mary's accident.

"How'd the exam go, Snivelly?" asked James.

"I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment," said Sirius viciously. "There'll be great grease marks all over it, they won't be able to read a word."

Several of the spectators laughed; as Severus attempted to get up, but the jinx was still operating on him. They watched as he struggled to get on his feet.

"You- wait," he panted, staring up at the two, with a look of pure loathing. "You- wait . . ."

"Wait for what?" said Sirius, "What're you going to do, Snivelly, wipe your nose on us?"

Severus let out a stream of mixed swearwords as he struggled towards his wand.

"Wash out your mouth," said James coldly, "Scourgify!"

Pink bubbles began to stream from Severus' mouth at once, the froth beginning to choke him.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily shouted, having seen Severus suffer enough torture from the two boys. Lily barged through the crowd, and looked at James with pure hatred in her eyes.

"All right, Evans?" James asked, his voice suddenly becoming more mature and pleasant, as it always did when Lily was around.

"Leave him alone," she repeated, "What's he done to you?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Well," began James, a thoughtful look appearing on his face, "it's more the fact that he _exists,_ if you know what I mean . . ."

Many of the students around had began to laugh, save for Remus who was still staring intently at his book.

"You think you're funny," Lily said coldly, "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him _alone."_

"I will if you go out with me, Evans," said James quickly. "Go on . . . go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."

Behind him, the jinx was beginning to wear off, and Severus, who was still spitting out soapsuds, was inching towards his wand.

"I wouldn't go out with you if it were a choice between you and the giant squid," said Lily, her eyes piercing into James's.

"Bad luck Prongs," said Sirius briskly, not at all interested in James and Lily's affairs. He turned back to Severus, just in time to see him grab ahold of his wand, "OY!"

But he was too late, and Severus had directed his wand at James; there was a flash of light and a gash appeared on the side of James's face, spattering his robes with blood. James whirled about; a second later, Severus was hanging upside down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs, and a pair of greying underpants.

Many people in the small crowd watching cheered. Sirius, James, and Peter roared with laughter.

Lily, whose furious expression twitched for a moment, as she tried not to smile, said "Let him down!"

"Certainly," said James as he jerked his wand upward. Severus fell into a crumpled heap on the ground. Disentangling himself from his roves, he got quickly to his feet, wand up, but Sirius sighed "Petrificus Totalus," and Severus kneeled over again, rigid as a board.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily shouted. She had drawn out her own wand, and was pointing it at the pair, who eyed it warily.

"Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you," said James earnestly.

"Take the cure off him, then!"

James sighed deeply, before turning to Severus and muttering the countercurse. "There you go," he said, as Severus struggled to his feet once more, "you're luck Evans was here, Snivellus-"

A few weeks of pent up anger towards his best friend got the best of Severus, "I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!" he shouted. Many in the crowd were taken aback, that Severus and Lily, who were the best of friends despite their difference in Houses, had such an exchange. Sirius ad Remus both looked shocked, while James shook with anger.

Lily blinked, "Fine" she said coolly, "I won't bother in future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, _Snivellus."_

"Apologize to Evans!" James roared at Severus, his wand pointed threateningly at the Slytherin.

"I don wat you to make him apologize," Lily shouted, rounding on James. "You're as bad as he is . . ."

"What?" James yelped, "I'd NEVER call you a – you-know-what!"

Lily shook her head, having had enough of James. She felt five years' worth of anger pour out of her. "Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can — I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK." She turned on her heel and hurried away, trying to hide the tears that were welling up after what Severus had said to her.

"Evans!" James shouted after her, "Hey, EVANS!"

But she didn't look back.

James; eyes watched as she headed up the slope, "What is it with her?" asked James, trying and failing to look as though this were a throwaway question of no real importance to him.

"Reading between the lines, I'd say she thinks you're a bit conceited, mate" said Sirius.

"Right" said James, turning back to Sirius, looking furious, "right-." There was another flash of light, and Severus was once again hanging upside down in the air. "Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?"

"James!" said a female voice coming from behind him.

James turned around and saw Demi, her eyebrows raised, "What are you doing?"

He was about to speak when Sirius quickly ran over to the blue haired girl, who'd pulled out her wand and was about to let Severus down. Everyone watched as Sirius whispered in her ear, "Snivelly called Evans a 'mudblood'."

Demi's face paled, as she faced him, "Really?" she asked.

James, who'd guessed what Sirius had said nodded.

Demi looked at Severus and then back and James, "Proceed."

James was just about to pants Severus when Demi said, "Professor alert." She quickly let Snape drop to the ground, as she, James, and Sirius quickly headed back to the shade of the tree.

Professor Slughorn wandered around, beaming at the students. He saw Severus laying on the ground and said, "Ah yes, exams do drain a person don't they. Oh, and Professor Flitwick was looking for you."

Severus quickly stood up, grabbed his bag, and marched away from the group and back to the castle.

James, Sirius, Peter, and Demi laughed at the Potions master's foolishness as he wandered away.

Demi turned to the others turning serious, "What happened?" she asked. James filled her in, with interjections from Sirius. After she'd heard the entire story, she looked over at Remus her eyebrows raised, "Honestly Remus, you're a prefect! You should've done something before it got that far."

Remus sighed, feeling ashamed of himself. Sirius glared at her, "Hey, don't pin this on him."

"I'm not. I'm just saying that, despite the fact that you two (here she looked at James and Sirius) constantly hex Severus, I always thought that it was because he'd said something to you in the hallway." She ignored the indignant looks on Sirius and James's faces. She raised her hands, "All I'm saying is that maybe, you should cut the boy some slack. That's all." She stood up and dusted the grass of her robes, "I'm going to go check on Lily."

She could hear the crying before he climbed up the steps of the deserted common room. Demi took a breath before heading up the stairs and pushing open the door to their dormitory.

Lily hadn't even bothered to pull the curtains round her bed, as she sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, hugging herself with her arms, as tears poured down her face. She looked up at Demi and opened her mouth.

Demi raised her hand, "I know what happened." She headed over to Lily and wrapped her arms around her. The redhead sobbed loudly on her shoulder.

"H-he ca-called m-me a mu-mu-mu . . ." Lily tried to say between tears.

"I know, I know," Demi said, patting Lily on the head. She'd never been that great at consoling people, but within the past year or so, she'd begun to find herself in these types of situations more and more often. "But now you know what kind of person he really is," she reasoned.

Lily moved back, looking at Demi, her eyes swollen and puffed up. "Yeah, but it's hard to admit that James was right this entire time." Demi conjured up a box of tissues and handed it to Lily who pulled one out and blew her nose loudly. "He was my best friend."

"You still have friends, who you know would never call you a you-know-what," Demi said softly. "Dumbledore says it's far easier to forgive people for being wrong than right."

"Sound like the kind of mental thing he'd say,' Lily muttered, as she let out a shaky laugh.

Demi laughed too and suddenly, was knocked in the jaw by Lily's head. "What happened?" asked Demi, looking at her with concern.

Lily looked down at the comforter and pulled at a threat absentmindedly, "I-uh, I feel like I need to tell you something important. Kiaira and I, we uh, we-" she was cut off by Kiaria, Marlene, and Alice, who'd just barged in to the room.

"Are" said Kiaira, stopping short of breath.

"You" Alice continued, her chest heaving.

"Okay?" Marlene finished, her face flushed.

Lily nodded at the others, "I'm fine." She looked at Kiaira, "I want to tell her."

Marlene, Alice and Demi looked confused, as Kiaria's eyes widened, "No, absolutely not."

"I have to, it's eating away at me. And I bet it's eating at you too," she said.

The pair had a silent argument, and finally Kiaira said, "Fine. go ahead."

Lily drew a deep breath before saying in one go, "Jeremiahischeatingonyou."

"What?" Demi asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Jeremiah is cheating on you."

"With Christine Willcoz," Kiaira added.

"We saw them a few days ago snogging," Lily continued.

"They were doing a lot more that than," Kiaira added darkly.

The girls all looked at Demi, who surprisingly wasn't shocked. She sighed, before rubbing her temples, "I had a feeling. . ." she murmured, "Something wasn't right." She looked back at Lily and Kiaira "Thanks for telling me and don't tell the boys. I'll deal with that later, but for now, I'm more concerned for you Lils. Is there anything you need me to do?"

Lily shook her head yes, "give me a hug," she asked, her arms outstretched. The pair hugged and hugged, Lily crying on Demi's shoulder, but Demi remained stone cold. She wasn't upset, she was angry. The other girls left the pair alone to grieve for their severed relationships.

"I think we need to get some revenge, no?" she whispered in Lily's ear.

"In some old styled muggle fashion," Lily added, letting go.

The pair exchanged mischievous looks.

"Time for a capstone," Lily said smiling.

"Indeed," Demi replied.

 **For those of you who don't know, a capstone is like a project that brings everything you've learnt together, and you apply your knowledge to the project or task.**

 **Hope you enjoy this one!**

 **Tell me what you think the girls should do in the reviews!**


	16. Post OWLs

**I'm going to add a little interlude here, about what happens the night that Severus goes into the Whomping Willow. It's all little bit of a back-and-forth chapter, but it is quite simple to understand. Anything in italics is a flashback, and anything that is bold and italicized is the thoughts inside someone's head. Anything that isn't, is happening in the present moment. I just thought I'd make that clear. For those of you who may be wondering why this chapter took so long to post, it is because I didn't know where to split it up from and make multiple chapters. I hope this is long enough (fingers crossed) to tide you over till the next chapter.**

James and Remus were as mad as ever at Sirius. While the latter was still slightly annoyed with what Sirius had done, the former was practically livid at the long haired boy.

 _In the weekend wedged between the two weeks of OWLs, Remus was undergoing another transformation. He was slightly annoyed by the time frame, but was relieved that the only exams they had left were Muggle Studies, Astronomy, and History of Magic, all subjects that Remus was likely to drop in the coming year, and ones that he was surprisingly good at._

" _Moony, what time is Pomfrey leading you out?" Sirius whispered, as the four of them sat studying in the library._

" _Ten," Remus replied, looking up, before sighing. "I don't think you four ought to come with me though. I mean, considering what happened after the Defence OWL, Severus is probably waiting for the par of you to put a toe out of line. I wouldn't risk it. Lily's told me that Severus is under the assumption that I am a werewolf. And quite frankly, the last thing I need for him to do is follow you." They noticed the worry etched on his face, and knew that he would be very angry with the three of them if they did._

 _James sighed, before nodding. He and the others stood up, stretched and gathered his things, as he and the others made their way out to the common room. Lily was still in hysterics after what had happened that afternoon, and Demi was also looking close to tears each time they saw her._

 _Thus, the four had resorted to studying in the Library, returning only when it was very late, and they were absolutely sure that the pair had gone to sleep. They returned to an empty common room, the only noise coming from the crackling of the dying fire._

 _They studied for hours on end, until they were shocked out of focus by the loud rumbling of Sirius' stomach. He looked up at the three boys and smiled feebly. Silently, James pulled out the cloak and tossed it over to Sirius, "Go get some food Padfoot."_

 _Sirius nodded gratefully, and pocketing his wand, he threw the cloak over himself and headed out through the portrait hole. He, knowing that he was safe hiding under the cloak, decided to head down through the main staircase, and down to the Kitchens._

 _It wasn't until he reached the Atrium that he saw someone hiding behind the large, brass statue of Godric Gryffindor. He crept out of sight of the statue, and whipped the cloak off, pocketed it, and turned down the Atruim once more._

 _He saw the green robe and curtain of greasy hair from where he was standing, "Oi, Snivelly! What kicked you out of your hidey-hole?" he laughed as Severus poked his head out from behind the statue, looking positively angry._

" _Black" he growled, as he came out from behind the statue, pulling his wand out from beneath the folds of his robes._

 _The pair marched towards one another, "What are you doing here?" Sirius asked once again, the anger flashing in his grey eyes caused Severus to slow down slightly._

" _I could ask you the same," Severus replied, looking positively enraged._

 _Sirius smirked, "Well then, it's nice to see that this is going nowhere," he shook his head and turned away, heading out to the smaller set of steps that would lead him to the Kitchens._

" _It's a full-moon tonight," Severus spat maliciously._

 _Sirius' blood turned cold, and he faced Severus, "Well, it looks like someone has been studying for Astronomy," he replied sarcastically._

 _Severus' lip curled, "Werewolf cycles, more like."_

 _Sirius bit his lip, "New you were always fascinated by the Dark Arts, slimy little git."_

 _Severus let out a little laugh, "Why the sudden change in topic? Trying to head me off?" He asked, advancing on Black. "You know where he's going, don't you?" Severus asked, as he came closer._

 _Sirius raised an eyebrow, "I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about." He replied dully._

 _Severus sneered, "Lupin's out for another stroll . . . in the moonlight." He waited a few moments for Sirius to reply, and took his silence as an answer, "So he is a werewolf?"_

 _Sirius felt something inside his head snap._ _ **This slimy little piece of shit is never going to stop trailing Moony is he? Well then, I'll just let Moony solve the problem, after all, he should be heading to the Wing in a few minutes anyway. And for all I know, it might be a good end-of-the-year prank, a nice send off for ol' Snivelly. I call this being efficient, killing two birds with one bird- or, werewolf.**_

 _He grabbed Severus by the collars of his robes and threw him up against the wall, "You know what? I think, if you're so desperate for answers, you might as well wait here."_

 _Severus eyed him uncertainly, but let Black continue._

" _Oh yes. If you're so determined to see whether your conclusion is correct, I'd say a little trip into the Whomping Willow would be worthwhile, Moony should be heading down this way now." He dropped Severus, who landed unceremoniously on his butt, looking up at Sirius, who dusted off his hands._

 _Sirius was just about to stroll away, before saying, "Poke the knot at the base with a stick. It'll speed you up so you can be on your way." He stood back and made his way to the staircase. "Goodnight, Snivellus," he said, as he climbed back up the stairs, completely forgetting that he'd been on his way for food. He was anxious to see how Wormtail and Prongs would react when they'd heard of his ingenious prank._

 _Severus watched Black leave until he was no longer visible, before ducking behind the statue of Godric Gryffindor once more. He waited patiently, twitching with anticipation._

 _Five minutes went by . . . then ten . . . then fifteen . . ._

 _Eventually he'd begun to think that black was just having him on and was about to head back to the Slytherin common room, when he saw a pair of shadows coming from down the stairs, and swiftly hid himself once more. He stopped and waited, hearing only a woman's- No, no- the Matron's voice. He snuck a glimpse at the staircase once again and saw Remus, looking extremely pale by his own standards, shaking slightly._

" _-by Sunday," the Matron said, guiding the sickly looking boy towards the door._

" _And then my exams?" Remus said, his voice shaking as though he were suffering from an illness, which wasn't far from true . . ._

 _Severus watched as the two characters headed out the door, and waited till it had closed again. He took a deep breath and snuck out from behind the statue, scurried towards the door, and pulled it open ever so slightly, shutting it behind him._

 _He felt the warm, humid air sticking to him as he crept along the ground, keeping low, his hood up, and hoping that he wouldn't be seen. He followed the pair to the large Willow, whose branches were swaying in the hot wind. He watched as they got closer and closer, waiting for the pair to be attacked by the trees mad branches._

 _That moment never came, as the Matron picked up a large stick and hit the tree with it. He watched as Lupin gave the Matron a nod, before crawling in to the trunk._

 _Severus dived behind a clump of bushes as the Matron hurried back off to the castle, and waited until he heard the large oaken doors clang shut once more._

 _He then picked himself up off the ground and rushed down the slope and towards the tree. He quickly found the large stick, and prodded the large knot at the base of the trunk. The branches, which had been swaying once more, suddenly stood still._

 _With another breath, Severus bent down and saw the small little opening and sucked in his stomach, crawling in. . ._

 **MEANWHILE**

 _Sirius had just turned in to the seventh floor corridor and, whipping the cloak off of himself, ran towards the portrait door. "Agapanthuses," he said, trying to hold back a laugh. The Fat Lady swung open and he crawled into the common room._

 _James and Peter looked up, "Moony's already left," James said, as Sirius headed inside._

 _Sirius let out a bark-like laugh, "Well I'd hope so, otherwise this will have been a terrible prank."_

 _James and Peter exchanged confused looks, "What do you mean Padfoot?" James asked, looking slightly concerned._

 _Sirius began to tell the two Marauders what he'd done. As the story went on, Sirius began to laugh until he was practically inaudible. "So –So, I told him . . . right. . . . to go to the Willow, and prod the knot . . . oh, oh, he's going to be in for a treat!" Sirius said, laughing manically, as he wiped tears of laughter from his eyes._

 _James immediately shot up, upsetting the table. He was practically seething with anger, "Sirius you idiot. Do you know what you've done?"_

 _Sirius stopped laughing and gave James an odd look, "Yeah, I've just pulled the best prank of all time," he said, as he exchanged smiles with Peter. He looked back at James who was turning red, "Oh, come off it Prongs."_

" _No, I will not come off it. Moony spends half his time worried that someone will find out about his furry little problem and the other half worried that it'll attack someone!" James said quietly. Instantly, Sirius knew he'd done something bad, for James was only his angriest self when he was deadly quiet. He sighed, before running an agitated hand through his hair, "When did you tell him this?" he asked._

" _Uh, about ten-ish minutes ago?" Sirius said, glancing up at the clock._

 _James grabbed the cloak, which Sirius had tossed on to the sofa as he'd entered the room, and headed to the door, pocketing his wand. "Get Dumbledore to the Willow . . . Now!" he yelled, throwing the cloak over himself and pushing the portrait door open. He tore down the Grand Staircase, to the Atrium, where he threw the door open and ran down the slope towards the Willlow, whose branches were beginning to move once more._

 _He ripped the cloak off and tossed it onto the ground, searching in the dark for the long . . . "Ha!" he said triumphantly as he prodded the knot with the branch. Instantly the tree stopped moving and James raised his wand, "Lumos." He slid into the hole at the bottom of the trunk and hunched over, crawling through the dark tunnel._

 _James crawled in silence for what felt like hours, but was mere minutes, straining his ears for any sounds of a fight ahead of him. A few more moments later, and the path began to climb higher and he knew the trap door was mere seconds away._

 _Just as he reached the sharp turn in the tunnel, he saw Severus' lower body. He'd opened up the trapdoor at the top of the passageway and was looking into the house. James charged forward, and upon reaching the Slytherin, tried to pull him down. "Severus, no," James said, panting as he tried to pull him away._

 _Severus shook his arm out of James' grasp, "No, I want to know . . ." he said, pushing himself up and into the Shack and starting into the room._

 _James sighed before following him, shutting the door so that Remus couldn't escape, he raised his wand to shed light around the gloomy room._

 _The sofa was already torn to pieces and was now overturned, leaving piles of stuffing around the floor. Black marks had been scratched into the floor, and by the foot of the staircase, was a smear of fresh blood. "Moony," James muttered, thinking of how his friend had injured himself._

 _He'd completely forgotten that Severus was there until he heard a yelp and something fall on the floor. He turned to his left and saw Severus lying sprawled on the ground, having tripped over a chunk of wood that had been pried off of the wall. James quickly helped him up, and guided him back to the trap door._

 _James had just swung it open when he heard it. A loud howl coming from behind him . . ._

 _Slowly, he lowered his wand and turned around._

 _There, silhouetted by the door frame, was Remus. He was down on all fours, his snout in the air, and his tail dragging slowly behind. His normally green eyes, were now tainted with an unhuman-like glare. He snarled before bounding down the staircase._

 _James stood there, trying to tug a frozen Severus back in to the tunnel. Remus came closer and closer, sniffing his prey before letting out another growl._

 _Suddenly, Severus became aware of where he was, and jumped into the tunnel. The sudden movement seemed to have angered Remus, who lunged forward, his paw outstretched._

 _James quickly dove into the trapdoor, and shut it. He turned back to Severus and re-illuminated the tip of his wand once more. He gave Severus a serious look, "You fool, why would you follow him?" he asked._

 _Severus stood there, his eyes still open in shock and his pallid face looking greyer than white, "Black . . . he tol-told me what to . . ." His voice faltered._

 _James shook his head, as he spun Severus around and marched him down the path, "Why, out of all times, would you choose to listen to Padfoot, I mean Sirius now?" James asked._

 _Severus remained silent as they headed back through the tunnel._

 _It wasn't until they'd reached the end that they could see the moonlight shining through the hole in the trunk. James gave Severus a boost, before pushing himself out._

 _He could make out three blurred figures and quickly wiped his glasses with his sleeve. The faces of Sirius, Peter, and Professor Dumbledore looked back at him._

" _What do you think you were doing?" Professor Dumbledore said, bending down to look at the pair. "Do you know how much jeopardy you were in? Have you the slightest idea of the danger you put yourselves in?" he said, the usual twinkle in his eyes was gone. He straightened himself up, before saying "To my office, now." He shepherded the four boys up the grassy slope, through the doors, and into a hallways, with nothing more than an ugly statue of a gargoyle._

 _The gargoyle moved aside, revealing a slowly ascending circular staircase. Silently, Professor Dumbledore led them up the stairs and to a set of oaken doors, with a brass knocker. Professor Dumbledore merely pushed the door open and entered the room, the four boys trailing after him. He led them to his desk, and conjured up three more chairs, before raking a seat behind his desk, folding his hands in front of him "What, my dear boy, possessed you to go in to the Willow?" he asked, sounding quite solemn._

 _Severus took a deep breath before launching into the story, Dumbledore raised his hand a few times to silence Sirius, who'd jumped in trying to defend his actions._

 _It wasn't until Severus was done talking that Dumbledore allowed Sirius to speak, "It wasn't my fault Professor. He's spent the majority of the past five years trying to figure out what was going on. He kept on pestering us, and it was driving me ma! He wouldn't keep his nose out of Moony's- I mean Remus' business," Sirius said, looking outraged._

 _Dumbledore was silent for a few moments before looking at James, "Remus?" he asked, eyeing James' arm. James looked down and saw a 3 inch long gash on his arm. "Oh, Remus probably got me when I was shutting the trapdoor," he said._

 _Dumbledore pulled out a jar of silvery paste, "apply this to the cut, it shout disinfect and heal it quickly."_

 _James nodded thankfully before following the headmaster's instructions. Instantaneously, the cut healed itself, leaving a faint scar on James' arm._

 _Dumbledore remained silent before looking at Severus, "I understand that you are now aware of Mr. Lupin's condition," he said, to which Severus nodded. "And I am hoping that I am not making a mistake entrusting you with his secret." Here Dumbledore paused before continuing once more, "I will make sure that he is aware of your knowledge, and I hope that after this event, you will no longer harbor any ill feelings towards one another."_

 _James, Sirius, and Severus exchanged looks of outrage and disgust._

" _Me trust him?" Severus said, pointing at the pair._

" _He's an idiot," said James._

" _Complete nutter, really" Sirius added._

 _Dumbledore smiled, "Nevertheless, I do hope you realize what has happened between the three of you, yes?" They all gave him a blank look, and Dumbledore continued, "Mr. Black had caused a problem, sending Mr. Snape through the Willow. Mr. Potter, luckily, saved Mr. Snape and thus, undid the wrongdoing of Mr. Black." They continued to look confused. "So, Mr. Snape is indebted to Mr. Potter for saving his life, and will replay said debt by keeping his silence on the topic of Mr. Lupin, am I right?" he asked, turning to Severus, who gave a jerk of the head._

" _Very well now, off to bed all of you. And no detours" Dumbledore said._

 _The four boys trailed out of the room, and down the stairs. Severus looked at James, as though he were about to say something, but then closed his mouth, turned around and headed out of sight._

 _James, Sirius, and Peter (who'd remained silent the entire time) headed back to the common room, and as they walked could see the dawn approaching quickly. They raced up the stairs and into the seventh floor corridor, where the Fat Lady was snoozing pleasantly in her portrait._

" _Ehem," Peter said, faking a cough, but to no avail._

" _Hello?" Sirius said, tapping the picture._

 _James shoved the pair out of the way, "OI!" he yelled._

 _The Lady jumped and looked at them, "Password?" she asked irritably._

" _Agapanthues," James said, in a tired voice, and the door swung open._

 _They clambered in, and immediately fell on to the sofas by the now extinguished fire. James sighed, before standing up, "That was incredibly stupid Padfoot," he said, looking at Sirius, whose eyes were downcast._

" _I know mate. That was a bit too far, even for me. I spent half the time waiting for you two to get back, hoping I didn't endanger any of you." He stood up, and sloped over to the boy's staircase. Without a look back at James or Peter, he headed up the stairs._

 _Peter looked at James before pulling out the cloak from his pocket, "Didn't want Dumbledore to see it," he muttered following Sirius' trail._

 _James sat in the chair, the cloak in his lap, wondering how Remus would react once Dumbledore told him._

Needless to say, Remus wasn't at all happy with Sirius, refusing to talk to him, except for when he found that he hadn't any choice. James was still annoyed with him, but hadn't resorted to the silent treatment.

Sirius, however, felt as though he deserved Remus' current treatment, as he was ashamed of his behavior himself.

It wasn't until the end of exams that Remus and James had finally forgiven Sirius completely for what he'd done.

The only thing that made Remus forgive him was the promise he had made Sirius agree to; never bully Severus again, for fear that, in retaliation, he might divulge Remus' secret.

Muggle Studies seemed to be the easiest exam for all four Marauders, who found essay question seventeen to be quite the laugh.

"Ah, _'What is the function of a rubber duck?'_ I'd be surprised if we don't scrape Exceeds Expectations after that," said James, as they headed out of the Atrium, having just completed their practical and were set on throwing a lavish party to celebrate the end of their O. and N.E. .

The four of them proceeded up through the staircase and were quite intent on having this party until they saw Lily and Demi.

Since the afternoon of the Defence exam (or the 'Snape Incident' as the others had taken to calling it), the two girls were often seen together, both looking slightly put out, agitated, had the defined look of someone who hadn't slept, eaten, or spoken to anyone other than each other, and had been crying ("more tears than Snivellus is worth," said James one evening).

Remus, however, had nothing to say when asked of his opinion on the topic, and had resorted to confusing language when the others had asked. Only yesterday he had given Sirius and James looked of suppressed anger and had been quite annoyed with the pair for not showing any sense of compassion for the two girls.

Currently the pair were huddled together, making their way up the stairs and talking in whispers. Suddenly, as though they'd heard the thoughts of the other boys, they stopped, and turned around.

Swiftly the pair moved against the staircase to let them by.

Sirius, who'd had enough of Demi's absence, and dull attitude shot her an annoyed look as he passed by. He'd already suffered enough from the treatment he'd received from Remus that he didn't want to add to another. Judging by the way Demi and Lily were looking at him now, he'd surmised that Remus had told the pair what he'd done.

James walked past, for once in his life, refusing to acknowledge Lily's presence.

Lily, however, was still annoyed with Severus, as she thought back to an argument the pair had a few days after the 'the Incident'. Severus had managed to sneak out of the Slytherin common room, just as Lily was patrolling the covered halls surrounding the courtyard.

 _Lily and Severus were walking across the castle courtyard, arguing intensely as Lily tried to hurry away from him._

"… _thought we were supposed to be friends?" Severus said, "Best friends?" He ran a few steps further, but Lily quickened her pace._

" _We are, Sev, but I don't like some of the people you're hanging round with! I'm sorry, but I detest Avery and Mulciber! Mulciber! What do you see in him, Sev, he's creepy! D'you know what he tried to do to Mary Macdonald the other day?"_

 _Lily had reached a pillar and leaned against it, looking up into the thin, sallow face. She'd finally given up on trying to run away from Severus, and decided it would just be best to try and dissuade him from being friends with those no-good Slytherins._

" _That was nothing," said Severus. "It was a laugh, that's all – "_

" _It was Dark Magic, and if you think that's funny – "_

" _What about the stuff Potter and his mates get up to?" demanded Severus. His color rose again as he said it, unable, it seemed, to hold in his resentment._

" _What's Potter got to do with anything?" said Lily._

" _They sneak out at night. There's something weird about that Lupin. Where does he keep going?" Severus asked, knowing that perhaps Lily might have an answer, having been spending copious amounts of time with the Marauder doing rounds._

" _He's ill," said Lily. "They say he's ill – " Lily tried to sound as convincing as possible. She and Severus had discussed the mysterious circumstances surrounding Remus, ever since they'd heard about his ill mother. Severus had never bought the excuse. Once she'd figured out what was actually going on with Remus, she attempted to pry Severus off the boy's tail, knowing that Severus was set on trying to get rid of the boys who constantly made his life hell._

" _Every month at the full moon?" said Severus, raising an eyebrow. He'd never known Lily to be so protective of a Marauder, and was equally as shocked when she spoke once more._

" _I know your theory," said Lily coldly. "Why are you so obsessed with them anyway? Why do you care what they're doing at night?" She tried to turn the conversation back to Severus, as she could feel her face heating up from lying._

" _I'm just trying to show you they're not as wonderful as everyone seems to think they are," he said pointedly._

 _The intensity of his gaze made her blush._

" _They don't use Dark Magic, though." She dropped her voice. "And you're being really ungrateful. I heard what happened the other night. You went sneaking down that tunnel by the Whomping Willow, and James Potter saved you from whatever's down there – "_

 _Severus's whole face contorted and he spluttered, "Saved? Saved? You think he was playing the hero? He was saving his neck and his friends' too! You're not going to – I won't let you – "_

" _Let me? Let me?" Lily's bright green eyes were slits._

 _Severus backtracked at once. "I didn't mean – I just don't want to see you made a fool of – He fancies you, James Potter fancies you!" The words seemed wrenched from him against his will. "And he's not…everyone thinks…big Quidditch hero – " His bitterness and dislike were rendering him incoherent, and Lily's eyebrows were traveling farther and farther up her forehead._

" _I know James Potter's an arrogant toerag," she said, cutting across him. "I don't need you to tell me that. But Mulciber's and Avery's idea of humor is just evil. Evil, Sev. I don't understand how you can be friends with them."_

 _And with that she turned away, heading off in the direction of the Atrium, not noticing the slight bounce in Severus' steps as he too followed Lily back into the castle._

 **Like I said, it's a little choppy. The next chapter will be the party and the two girls pranking the other boys, and the last chapter will be the train ride home, as always.**


	17. The One

**Sorry it took so long to update. I usually take 24 hours, but my eyes were hurting from all the strain I was putting on them, so I decided to take a little longer with this chapter. That, and the fact that I just finished rereading** _ **Deathly Hallows**_ **(for what is probably the thirtieth time), so I needed time to mourn. You'll notice that I made up for the lack of updates (although there isn't really anything to complain about, I just wrote 75K words in 16 days) by giving all the readers what they've wanted since I published The Marauder's Years: Year One, back in 2013. So here's your nice, long 17 page chapter (Word Document- wise). Needless to say, all those people who have since abandoned ship will be regretting it very, very soon.**

 **So without further ado, the next chapter . . .**

The boys entered the common room, which was filled with some seventh years, who were too excited with the prospect of being done with their exams, they'd found it difficult to catch some sleep.

They walked up to Mary, who despite her ordeal, was back and managed to finish her exams without falling into some sort of panic attack, "Is everyone finished?" James asked her.

She stifled a yawn before smiling, "Yeah, thank God. Why?" she asked when she saw the smirks on the faces of the Marauders.

Sirius and James exchanged mischievous grins before turning back. They'd heard from a few other students that she had passed her Apparition test some weeks before. "Do you think you'd be able to get your hand on some Firewhiskey?" Sirius asked.

Mary raised an eyebrow, "Really?" She looked at the boys who were still standing there, with pleading looks on their faces, "Fine, but don't tell anyone that I'm getting it."

Sirius dug around in his pockets and pulled out a handful of Galleons, "There's fifty, and that should be just enough . . ." He handed the coins to her, and with one last shake of the head, she set off out the door, pocketing the money as she went.

"I didn't know you were a walking bank Padfoot?" James said, cocking an eyebrow at Sirius, who merely shrugged.

"We needed a fund, and I happened to have some spare change left over," he replied smugly, as they sat down on the sofa.

They were just going through the other aspects of the party before Kiaira, Marlene, Alice, and Frank wandered in as well. "So, we heard there's going to be a party," Kiaria said, looking at the four boys, "Know anything about it?"

They shook their heads, "Yep, it should start around 8," Remus said, smiling as he leant back into his chair, the weight of exams lifted from his shoulders.

"I heard there's going to be Firewhiskey," Frank said.

"Firewhiskey?" Marlene asked, sitting up, her eyes wide open.

"Firewhiskey," Alice replied, resting her head on Frank's shoulder and closing her eyes.

Remus felt himself drifting off to sleep before he jolted himself awake, "I should probably go and see Nirvana," he whispered into James' ear. James nodded slightly, as Remus slid off the sofa and wandered over to the portrait door, under the pretense of sneaking in some food.

Remus didn't know where his feet were taking him till he'd reached the Slytherin common room. He realized he was practically knocking on the door to the house of multiple Death Eaters and took a deep breath before doing so.

The door opened up and a stout boy peaked out from behind the door, "What do you want?" he asked. Remus was finding himself distracted by the large amount of noise coming from the room, and came to the conclusion that it wasn't just the Gryffindors who would be celebrating tonight, for O. were the collective nightmare of many.

"Uh, Professor Slughorn sent me here. He needs to speak with Nirvana Carrow. . ." Remus said, making something up on the spot. He hoped that his reddening neck and fidgety manner did no give him away, and was relieved when the boy turned around and called for her.

A moment later, the pair were strolling through the grounds, having just spent the first five minutes thoroughly abusing the examiners.

"That Umbridge was a right foul b****, only giving me half. It's not my fault that it looked magenta and not pink," she huffed as they walked.

Remus smirked, "So, have any plans for the summer?" he asked tentatively. He hated the summer, for the pair lost all sense of communication, fearing that any letters he'd send to Nirvana would be intercepted by her siblings.

Remus immediately regretted asking, for the smile that had been playing on Nirvana's lips, slid off like Stinksap.

She began to fiddle with the hem of her sleeve, "I-uh, erm, dunno . . . I'm just going to be doing some stuff, you know? Like summer stuff, the usual . . ." she said, uncomprehendingly.

Remus furrowed his eyebrows, "What's wrong?" he asked, as the pair stopped. He turned to face her before saying, "You can tell me."

Nirvana brushed a tendril of her hair out of her face ". . . I want out," she said quickly.

Remus was taken aback, "What?" he asked.

Nirvana sighed before looking up at him, "I can't do this anymore. All this sneaking around, it's getting to me . . . I can feel the weight of it crushing me, I can't breathe. I spend half the night awake, fearing what might happen if Amycus and Alecto found out."

Remus looked quite sad and afraid, "This is why I said it would have been better if we were open about it" he said quietly

Nirvana's blue eyes quickly met his, filled with desperation, "Don't you understand? It doesn't matter whether they found out now, or later. The results would still be the same. I can't be with you Remus, you keep hiding things from me!"

Remus gave her a confused and annoyed look, "How did we get from us hiding out relationship tome hiding things from you?" His voice was shaking, as he tried to suppress how agitated he felt.

"You show up at random times, with cuts all over you and you claim to be-"

Remus cut her off, "So just because Sirius, James, and I get into a tussle every now and again it means that I'm hiding something from you?" he asked angrily.

"You know what – fine!" Nirvana said, jumping up in anger, "I don't care anymore."

"Nor do I!" he replied, with the same tone. He watched as she stalked away from him, back through one of the side entrances.

Remus took a few moments to calm himself down, before realizing what had just happened. "Did- did I just break up with her?" he asked himself, sounding thoroughly confused. He closed his eyes and repeated the entire conversation in his head, before coming to a conclusion, "Yeah, I broke up with her."

He trudged back to the castle, taking his sweet time, not caring about what had just happened, for just as Nirvana had mentioned it, he too felt a burden placed upon his shoulders. One that had been there for quite some time, and would not be moved by any amount of studying. He'd spent a year with Nirvana; yet, their entire relationship was held through whispered conversations in the library and strolls in the grounds.

If that was the definition of a relationship, then he was definitely cheating on her with James, Sirius, and Peter.

 _Cheating . . ._ he thought.

That reminded him of what he needed to do next. He began to jog up to the castle and could see the large oak doors growing nearer and nearer. "Looks like today isn't the day for relationships," he muttered under his breath as he pushed the door open.

When he reached the Gryffindor common room, he found the others sitting on the sofa. Lily and Demi were nowhere to be seen and Remus resorted to asking Kiaria to bring the latter down.

"Is this about what you know?" she asked, before calling Demi down. The pair had gotten up and were standing by the girl's stairs.

Remus nodded, and much to his surprise Kiaira smiled, "She knows. Lily and I told her after the 'Snape Incident'.

Remus was shocked, "she's know this-?"

Kiaira nodded, and Remus slapped a hand to his face.

"No wonder she'd been in all sorts. Always looks close to tears, nowadays," he said.

Kiaira nodded once more, "She doesn't want James or Sirius to know. They'd just go over her head and attack Jeremiah."

Remus couldn't agree more. But he too was often visited by the urge to grab Sirius' beaters bat and beat the shit out of Golde. "What's she going to do now?" he asked, knowing full well that Demi wasn't going to take this lying down.

"Well, I don't know much, but she and Lily are helping one another," Kiaria wiggled her eyebrows.

"Wait, 'each other'?" Remus asked, "Severus?"

Kiaria nodded one more time. "I wouldn't get in their way though, they're putting a lot of energy into this plan, and its top secret" here she leaned in. "I don't even know what it is," she said, jabbing herself in the chest with her thumb.

She moved back again and spoke once more, "And at any rate, you've got yourself a party to plan, haven't you?" and she nodded over to the boys on the sofa, who were chatting away.

The pair headed back over to the sofas to rejoin the conversation, "-and that's when I thought 'hey, why not?'" Sirius finished, laughing. He wasn't the only one, as all the others were hugging their sides and roaring with laughter.

"Oh, oh, that's hilarious," Marlene said, wiping a tear from her eye. "Man, you guys really out did yourselves there."

"I know right?" James replied.

The day wore off like this, and soon they were all returning from dinner, to which Lily and Demi did not make an appearance.

As they were decorating the common room, with heaping trays of food and drinks (the Firewhiskey was lying in a discreet pile under one of the tables, overladen with Pumpkin Juice and Butterbeer).

"Do you think they'll come down?" James asked. After spending the past week ignoring Lily, he'd began to wonder if he'd been doing the right thing, letting her vent on her own, without getting involved.

"Dunno," Sirius mumbled. He was too busy thinking about his recent treatment of Demi. He was sure there was something bothering her, as he had never seen the girl cry before, except for once in their third year.

The two boys exchanged looks before being shocked out of their, well, depressing conversation by the arrival of Remus and Peter, with more food, and Frank levitating the same gramophone they'd used for their Quidditch Cup party a few weeks earlier.

Remus found himself putting all his energy and thought into the preparations for the party, rather than disturbing himself with the thought of Nirvana, who was probably sitting alone in the Slytherin common room, listening to the jeers of future Death Eaters with whom she was forced to room with.

Kiaria who was helping the two boys load more food onto the now groaning tables, whispered, "Should I try and bring 'em down?" she asked Remus.

He nodded and before long, she'd disappeared up the girl's staircase.

Kiaria didn't bother knocking on the door; there were no secrets where the girls were concerned. She pushed it open and saw Demi and Lily, lying on the former's bed, studying the roll of parchment between them. "Exams are over, so unless you've got Spattergroit, then you're both coming downstairs."

The two girls jumped, and quickly rolled the paper up, before Vanishing it. They trudged out of the room and past Kiaira who added, "And at least try to seem happy that exams are over."

"Yes ma'am," replied the pair dully, as they sauntered down the steps. Lily and Demi had regarded any moment that they weren't planning their revenge a moment wasted.

The three were surprised to see the party in full swing as they entered the common room. Music was blaring from the speakers and people were chatting all over, smiles that had been forgotten since the beginning of June were all over the place.

James moved over to the three, pressing bottles of butterbeer into their hands, "Lily, I'm sorry for what happened that day-" James began.

Lily raised a hand to silence him, "You were right James. About Severus. I didn't want to see it because that would mean seeing the bad in a good friend- my best friend. You tried to point it out for me, and I mistook your concern for interfering, and I am truly sorry." She stuck out a hand, "I hope you'll find in within yourself to forgive me."

James stood there, shocked, looking Lily in the eyes. He tried to find his voice, but he didn't know where he'd left it. Suddenly, overcome with emotions, he dove forward and gave Lily a hug, ignoring her hand.

Lily stood there, patting James' back oddly, as she exchanged bemused looks with Demi and Kiaira, who were snorting in to their Butterbeer.

"I forgive you Evans, how could I not!" James cried, finally releasing her. "Come grab some food you two, you haven't eaten since this morning!"

He steered the pair over to the table and began to pour heaping servings of everything onto paper plates, before shoving those too, in to their hands.

He then wandered off in to the crowd, telling everyone to the top of his voice, how he'd hugged Lily Evans.

Lily turned as red as her hair and wandered over to where Remus and Marlene were standing.

Demi was about to follow when she felt something link arms with her, "I think he had too much firewhiskey," Sirius' voice muttered. Demi turned to face him, "He doesn't really know his limit."

"Do any of us?" Demi replied, as she watched James reenact the scene to a bunch of sixth years, who were laughing loudly.

Sirius took a deep breath before saying, "I haven't been treating you very well these past few days, and I'm sorely ashamed of my behaviour."

Demi waved his apology aside, "Its fine. I haven't been behaving very well either. Honestly, this close to tears every day . . ."

"Yeah, what's that about?" Sirius asked, looking concerned.

"You'll find out tomorrow," she replied mischievously, before wading in to the crowd and leaving Sirius standing on his own.

"What will I find out tomorrow?" he yelled.

The party didn't last too long, for it was crashed by McGonagall by 12:45. She didn't scold them, but merely requested that they lower the volume as many in the castle wished to sleep.

"Yeah right. I'll be damned if the Ravenclaws aren't jamming out right now," James said, as the professor headed out of the room.

Rather than 'lower the volume,' they decided to pack up for the day, and began to stash bottles of Butterbeer round the room, for the next morning.

The seventh years, aided by James (and Sirius, somewhat), had managed to deplete the entire supply of Firewhiskey, and were being helped up the stairs by the other Gryffindors.

"WE"VE GOT A TUMBLER!" said Wood, as one of the seventh year boys, came falling down the steps. A huge cheer was emitted from those still left in the common room, as the few nearest helped lift the boy up.

Soon, everyone was safely tucked in their beds and it was only Lily and a fair few others, who had already changed into their pyjamas but were unable to fall asleep.

 _Knock knock . . ._

They turned to face the portrait door, none willing to get up, until Mary did. She headed over and stuck her head out, " _YOU"_ she spat.

"I need to talk to Lily," said a meek voice.

Mary turned to face Lily, who was on her feet, having recognized the dull tones. "It's for you. It's that Snape boy."

"I don't want to speak to him," Lily said.

"Lily . . . please . . let me explain," Severus' voice cried.

Lily turned on her heel and marched up the stairs.

Fifteen minutes later, Mary opened the door to Lily's dormitory, "He's threatening to sleep out there if you don't talk to him," she whispered, owing to the snores of Lily's roommates.

Lily sighed, before pulling on her dressing gown, pocketing her wand, and heading downstairs, to an empty common room. She walked over to the closed portrait door, and wrenched it open.

She saw Severus lying in front of the door. Closing the door behind her, she began prodding the dark mass with her foot. "What?" she asked sharply.

Severus jumped up and looked at Lily in shock, "I- I didn't think you'd sh-show," he stammered, clearly surprised.

"I only came out because Mary told me you were threatening to sleep here," she said, her arms folded

"I was. I would have done. I never meant to call you Mudblood, it just – "

"Slipped out?" There was no pity in Lily's voice. "It's too late. I've made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you. You and your precious little Death Eater friends – you see, you don't even deny it! You don't even deny that's what you're all aiming to be! You can't wait to join You-Know-Who, can you?"

He opened his mouth, but closed it without speaking.

"I can't pretend anymore. You've chosen your way, I've chosen mine."

"No – listen, I didn't mean – "

" – to call me Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?"

Snape struggled on the verge of speech, but with a contemptuous look Lily turned and climbed back through the portrait hole.

"Stupid, insolent, raging, little piece of filth," she muttered climbing up the steps and in to her dormitory. She stopped her rant and quickly pulled of her gown, and clambered into the bed. Slowly, her anger turned into sadness, and she found herself crying into her pillow once more. " _Why Sev, why'd you do it?"_ She thought.

The first few exam-free days passed by, and many of the students who had previously been boarding themselves up within the school, were now roaming the grounds freely, and (in the case of the older students) visiting Hogsmeade on a daily basis.

The only thing that hadn't changed were the routines of Lily, Demi, and Remus.

The two girls were still spending every moment that they weren't sleeping and eating, focused on their plan for revenge (which was unknown to all the others). Remus, who'd managed to keep his problems under wraps soon found himself being ambushed by the other three Marauders as they went down to Hagrid's for tea.

"So-er Moony, have anything you'd like to share?" James asked, in what was supposed to be a nonchalant voice.

Remus knew better. He took a glance over at James, who was messing up his hair, and biting his lower lip as he always did when he was lying. "No, why do you ask?" Remus said.

James exchanged looks with Sirius, who filled in the absence, "Oh, just . . . you looked kind of put out at the party for a while. We were just wondering if it had something to do with Snivellus," Sirius replied.

Remus slowed his pace slightly, allowing the others to lead. _They're bound to find out about what's happened, and if I keep this up, then I might never make them truly believe that I'm over their pranks. And what's more, the summer break is about to start, and the last thing I want to do is leave the air all murky._ He looked back at the other boys before saying, "I, uh, broke up with Nirvana."

The other three boys, who were striding ahead came to an abrupt halt. Peter, who wasn't expecting this news, was so shocked, he tripped over his own feet, and lay sprawling in the grass.

"When?" asked James, as he lifted Peter back onto his feet by the scruff of his robes.

Remus closed his eyes, "The day we finished our OWLs. She said I wasn't being honest with her, or something," he looked over to the guys, "Girls are just not worth the trouble, and secret relationships are just bound to fail." The three of them were giving Remus sympathetic looks, "Eh, it was going to fail anyway. It was just a matter of time."

"Did you chuck her Moony?" Peter asked, as they continued to walk down the stone steps towards the cottage.

"It just sort of, fell apart if you know what I mean," Remus answered. He wasn't too hung up about it, and he'd be lying if he wasn't thinking about ending it anyway. It was like how Demi felt about her relationship with Jeremiah.

They reached the cabin door and knocked a fair few times before Hagrid emerged. "How are yeh?" he asked, opening the door wider, and allowing them to enter.

The cabin's windows were open wide, allowing the warm breeze into the house. The tea was poured into several chipped mugs, and soon they were all sitting round a heaping tray of rock cakes, which they'd learnt in their first year were not all that appetizing.

"I heard McGonagall had ter shut yer party down," He said, taking a seat with the others.

They laughed before saying, "Yeah, she seems to think that we were being 'inconsiderate' f those that wanted to sleep," James said, smiling.

Hagrid laughed, "I remember the end of me firs' year, an' the amount of noise tha' the old'r students made. Ol' Armando had ter come down hard on us Gryffindors tha' night." He looked slightly dazed as he remembered what had happened.

"So, was this before or after you were expelled?" Remus asked interestedly.

Hagrid quickly changed topics, "So, what are yeh planning for the summer?" he asked, looking around the table.

"Probably just going to play Quidditch," James said dully, as he picked at the splintering table.

"Nothing much," replied Remus and Peter simultaneously.

"Drive my Mum mad," said Sirius with a smirk on his face, "I've got it all planned out."

Everyone turned to face him, and waited as he explained.

"I've taken the liberty of purchasing a handful of posters, pictures, and whatnot from our various Hogsmeade trips as well as the small trip we took to London in the Winter Break. I'm going to plater the walls with them."

"Won't yer Mum just pull 'em off?" Hagrid asked, amused.

Sirius grinned, "Permanent Sticking Charm, Hagrid," he replied, causing the others to roar with laughter.

They continued making a few jokes, and Hagrid was pleased to join them in the verbal abuse of Mr. Argus Filch, for whom Hagrid harbored a personal vendetta. "Keeps tryin' ter get his bloody cat ter tail me," he said gruffly, as he waved goodbye to the boys, "But he'll see, Fang's goin ter give him hell."

They waved goodbye and headed back up to the castle for dinner, which was probably going to start in a few moments.

They'd just entered the Atrium, when they saw a Demi and Lily heading towards the side steps, which led to the kitchens.

"Do you know-?" Sirius began, turning to the others, who shook their heads. James and Peter looked slightly baffled, as they headed back up the stairs to the common room.

Remus, however, had a shrewd idea of what the girls were up to, and seeing as they were the cleverest witches in the year, he couldn't even imagine what type of stunt the pair were going to pull.

When they reached the common room, they took their usual seats by the fire (which was out) and were joined momentarily by Frank, Alice, Kiaira, and Marlene.

"Did you see-" Marlene began.

"Yep," said Sirius.

"Just now," added James.

"Any idea what they're up to?" Peter asked, biting a hangnail.

They shook their heads as Frank piped up, "It must be something important. They've been planning something since exams finished," he stated.

They all looked slightly puzzled, "Ah, well whatever it is, it can't be anything too bad."

"Yeah, Lily's probably handing in an extra credit assignment," James said, laughing.

They continued to talk until the clock read 6, and slowly pulled themselves up, and headed for the door/ They let the waves of students carry them down the stairs and to the Atrium. Marlene and Kiaira glanced around for a sign of Lily and Demi, but conceded defeat as dinner began.

They were just working their way through their second plates until the door of the Hall opened, and two figures one with blue hair, and another with red- sidled in to the room, unnoticed by everyone, save those who were looking for them.

They looked slightly ruffled in appearance, and Demi had the distinct air of her brother, whenever he'd pulled a prank. The two girls grinned at one another, before diving in to the food, and joining the others.

"We were wondering where you'd gotten to," Alice said, passing along a pitcher of iced pumpkin juice to Demi, who took it from her gratefully.

"Uh, we had some stuff to do," Lily said, as she moved her glass so Demi could fill it.

"Extracurriculars and what not," Demi interjected.

The others exchanged pitiful looks before turning back to them, "You're lying," said James, as he stabbed his steak with a fork.

"What?" cried the two girls, looking slightly guilty.

"You've been planning something, we can all tell," Remus said.

"So you might as well just tell us what it is," Sirius added, as the others agreed.

Lily and Demi exchanged looks, "You'll find out" they said in unison, "If you stay a little after dinner, that is," Lily added.

They spent the rest of dinner ignoring the pleas of their friends, and continued to eat, only speaking when the subject had changed.

Eventually, students and staff began to leave the hall and soon it was just a small cluster of students from each house that remained.

Suddenly, as they'd all just been in the middle of a conversation, Demi stood up and wandered over to the Ravenclaw table, where Jeremiah was sitting with his friends.

One of then nudged him with his elbow, and nodded over to Demi, who promptly sat across the table from her boyfriend, "What's up?" Jeremiah asked, trying to look completely normal.

Demi smiled, "Oh, nothing much. You?" she asked, looking quite mischievous.

"Oh, I'm just talking to my mates you see, and I was-," Jeremiah began, but his words were cut short.

Demi had pulled out her wand as she'd been walking and was aiming it at Jeremiah from underneath the table. As soon as he'd started talking, she'd performed some non-verbal magic, using a handy spell called _Muffliato_ , that Lily had told her about so that no one in the rest of the school could hear the scene that was about to occur.

Suddenly, Jeremiah jumped up. "What's going on?" He demanded, slamming a fist on the table. Everyone in the room fell silent and turned to look at the pair, including the Gryffindors. His voice had been magnified so that everyone in the hall could hear him perfectly.

Suddenly, he was flipped upside down as though his left foot were attached to some invisible string, and was floating up in the hall where everyone could see him.

"What did you do?" he asked once more, looking at Demi with pure anger.

"I have a question for you, my dear boyfriend," she said, her voice also magnified. The few people still sitting near her scooted away, as waves of anger rippled off the witch.

"And my questions don't matter?" he asked, his eyes wide.

Suddenly, his shoe flew off and fell by Demi's feet. He pulled out his wand to retrieve it, but Demi was too fast.

"Expelliarmus," she shouted, and Jeremiah's wand flew up in the air, before landing neatly in her hand. She pocketed the wand and spoke once more. "I slipped something in your mug. A potion, to be more specific. Every time you try to lie, or deflect a question, a piece of your clothing will disappear. It's like truth or dare, but with more of the truth part to it."

She paused before beginning once more, ignoring Jeremiah's pleas, "So, when I ask you a question, you're going to answer me. And it'll keep going till your standing butt naked in the middle of the hall, alright?"

He nodded meekly, and she spoke again, "So, when did you start cheating on me with Christine Wilcoz?" she asked.

"YOU LITTLE SACK OF FILTH!" screamed James from the Gryffindor table, as pulled out his wand, which was promptly taken from him by Lily, as Frank, Alice, Marlene and Kiaira tried to hold him back.

"Prongs, calm down" Remus said, as he too helped the others. Sirius and Peter were sitting there wide-eyed, looking at Demi as though they'd never seen her before.

Jeremiah swallowed before saying, "I have no idea what you're talking about." His other shoe flew to join the other. "Not telling you," he said, and his socks did the same.

"Fine then, prove to everyone what Sirius and James have been saying, 'You've no balls.'"

That seemed to have stung Jeremiah, as many in the hall (including the Marauders) jeered. "Fine, it's been almost six months."

Demi raised her eyebrows, "And why did you decide that I wasn't good enough and that it would be more prudent to cheat on me than break up?" she asked, her voice shaking with rage.

Jeremiah shook his head, and his tie flew off. "I still wanted to go out with you, and my mates and I thought it'd be funny to place a bet that I couldn't still date you, while I met other people. They thought you'd figured out my plan that day we yelled at one another, and said I lost the bet. That's why I wanted to get back together, so I wouldn't lose."

"You did this all for a bet?" asked Lily, from across the hall, her eyes full of disgust.

"Why did you agree to this bet? Why'd you do it?" Demi asked.

Jeremiah shook his head and his belt fell off. He kept on doing so, until he was just wearing his undershirt and a pair of boxers (with muggle gnomes on it, I might add), while his clothes lay in a pile by Demi's feet. "You were banned from Hogsmeade," he stated plainly, and the shirt fell down.

"So there must be more?" she asked, looking quite angry, her eyes full of tears at this point.

Jeremiah closed his eyes before saying, "You weren't being mature enough for me . . ." he said, and his boxers began to slide down. "No, no," he yelled grabbing at the hem, trying to keep them on. "You were spending so much time with those lot," here he nodded to the Marauders.

Demi tried to keep her tone light, but it came out harsh and cruel, "I'm sorry that I have other friends, much like yourself," she said.

"No, that's not it," Jeremiah said, getting more and more angry as well, "You cheated on me first."

Demi's eyes opened in shock, "With who?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest, and regarding Jeremiah with as much disgust as she'd give Severus.

"Black," spat Jeremiah as he looked over to the black haired Gryffindor, who blanched.

Sirius' nails were gripping the table so hard, he wouldn't be surprise if he saw ten crescent-shaped marks embedded thereafter. His lips were pressed tight, as he watched the fight unfold. How, how could he have missed Jeremiah's odd behaviour? He remembered Slughorn's Christmas Party, and how Jeremiah had refused to acknowledge Christine.

Demi looked astonished, "Sirius. You think I would cheat on you with Sirius Black? My brother's best mate, Sirius Black. My good friend Sirius Black, who'd rather kill himself than be the reason for someone else's troubles Sirius Black," she finished, glaring at him.

Jeremiah bit his lip, and took a moment before looking at Sirius, "I'm sorry for dragging you into this."

Sirius made no movement acknowledging Jeremiah's apology. _He'd hurt her. He'd been the source, once again, for another one of his best friend's failed relationships. His close proximity with her had caused her boyfriend to lay to waste two whole years._ Sirius shook himself out of this reverie to focus on what was happening in front of him.

Demi hadn't even bothered to try and hide the fact that she was upset, as tears crawled down her cheeks.

Jeremiah looked at her, "I'm sorry for causing you so much pain and I hope-"

"I don't care," she said muttered, frowning at the ground. She looked back up at him and yelled, "I DON"T CARE!" she spat, and Jeremiah recoiled. She looked up at him with pure loathing, "I can't believe I wasted two whole years on a piece of shit like you." She paused contemplating her next sentence, "I might as well have gone out with Sirius then. At least he doesn't make up his own conclusions about what's going on." She smirked before looking up at him, "You know what Golde? F*** YOU!"

And with a final glare she quickly lit the pile of clothes on fire (with Jeremiah's wand, I might add, which she then tossed aside), before muttering a countercurse, which dropped Jeremiah onto the floor like a sack of potatoes, undid all the charms, and ran out of the hall.

The other Gryffindors still stood there in shock, along with the others in the hall. Jeremiah's friends were helping him up, and dousing his flaming robes with water.

Suddenly he was knocked over by James. In their shock, Marlene, Frank, Alice, Kiaria, and Remus had let go of James.

He had completely ignored his wand, and began to throw punches at Golde's face, trying to break as many bones as he could. It wasn't until his friends had pried James off, and flung him to the side that he was joined by the other Gryffindors, who'd already drawn their wands.

Sirius, James, and Remus all went after Golde, using tripping jinxes, full body bind curses, a stinging hex and a few other hexes.

Lily had nailed Jeremiah's best mate with a bat bogey hex, and the little buggers (or boogers, should I say) were flapping around.

Kiaria and Marlene had used the tooth growing spell, and their combined use had made another Ravenclaw look awfully like a beaver.

They were being cheered on by a few of the Hufflepuffs until Professor Slughorn had burst through the door, "What the devil is going on here?" he asked, as they all backed away from one another. Slughorn surveyed the damage, before quickly lifting the curses and hexes on the Ravenclaws.

He gave a confused look at Jeremiah, whose nose, lip, and mouth (he'd lost some teeth) were bleeding, and both eyes resembled swollen blueberries, as well as the fact that he was pretty much naked. Silently, Slughorn conjured up some robes, which Jeremiah pulled on gratefully, before being sent along with the other Ravenclaws to the Hospital Wing.

Slughorn turned to the Gryffindors, and was surprised to see Lily amongst them, "Miss Evans!" he cried, "In a fight? Surely there must be some explanation as to why Gryffindor prefects were dueling?" he asked, having just noticed Remus as well.

"We, uh-" began James.

"Some students were fighting, and we were trying to break it up, but ended up being caught in the middle of it," Lily said, her face straight. "I'm sorry for our abysmal behaviour Professor, and I assure you it won't happen again." For the added effect, Lily hung her head down in shame.

Slughorn sighed, "Very well Miss Evans," he said, shaking his head, and looking at the others. "You all might want to head back to your common room."

They all nodded and headed straight for the door. Soon they were going through the shortcut to get to the seventh floor corridor, much to the fascination of one of their party.

"Wow, so there must be tons of these passageways," Lily said, as James held a curtain back for her.

"Yeah, we know of a few, but there are probably more," he said as they exited in to the corridor, and saw the Fat Lady ahead.

"Agapanthuses," said Peter, and the door swung open. They all collapsed on the sofas, and had a single seconds rest before being bombarded with questions.

"What happend?"

"Did they really break up?"

"She lit him of fire?"

"He's got a pumpkin for a head?"

Suddenly Lily stood up, "Mind your business," she said coolly, and the crowd dispersed. Before they could go up, however, Lily saw a sixth year girl and her friends creeping up the stairs to their dorm. "Hey you, Wilcoz!" she yelled.

The sixth year froze, before turning around, "Yes Missis Prefect?" she said, batting her eyelashes.

"I hope you and King Jackass are happy," she said, before pointing her wand at the girl's face and saying, _"Furnunculus!"_

A moment later, Christine's face was covered with boils, and she shrieked with rage before storming up the stairs, her friends hurrying behind her.

"That'll teach her," said Kiaira, as she made room for Lily to sit.

Slowly the common room began to empty as students headed to sleep, realizing the fifth years were not going to talk about what had happened.

Soon it was just the Marauders sitting in the sofas, and as the clock struck 11, they too stood up and stretched, "D'you think she's okay?" James asked, for what must have been the fiftieth time.

They'd expected Demi to show up by now, laughing about her fight and break up with Golde, but she hadn't passed through the door.

Sirius was suddenly visited by an idea, "James, can I borrow the cloak, I'm hungry, and I have a shrewd idea of where she might be."

James nodded, and a few moments later, Sirius was walking briskly down the seventh floor, and towards the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy being clubbed by some trolls. He walked thrice past the same chunk of wall, and soon, a door had appeared. He wrenched it open, and was not surprised to see a large dark blue wolf, with black eyes pacing around in the small room.

Sirius took off the cloak and hung it over the back of a large sofa before transforming himself.

He wandered around with the wolf, attempting to amuse it by chasing his tail and trying to play tag, before conceding defeat. He trudged over to where the wolf was lying, and sank down next to it, before nudging it gently in the foreleg.

The wolf growled, but the dog repeated the movement several more times until the wolf jumped up and butted his head.

Quickly the dog transformed back into Sirius, who was grimacing, as he pushed himself up on to the sofa.

"I'm sorry," said a voice, and he saw Demi walking towards him, her hands curled at her side, and her eyes wide open.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" he asked her, as she sat down next to him.

"Well, you have to admit you were being a bit annoying," she said, as she curled up on the sofa.

Sirius looked at her and noticed that her eyes were swollen, as though she'd been crying. "Is that why you've been so upset?" he asked tentatively.

She nodded.

"How long've you known?" he asked.

"Since the Snape Incident" she replied dully, not looking at him.

Sirius' eyes widened, "But you were in the middle of exams! I never noticed you were upset till after. I thought it was the stress!"

Demi shrugged halfheartedly, "There wasn't much I could have done during exams, and besides, they were a good distraction."

Sirius nodded slightly, "That's true, but why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Kiaria and Lily found out, and then Remus overheard them talking about it one night," she said monotonously. "I didn't need you and James on his case either. I needed to sort out my own problems myself. Once I'd found out the truth, I decided public humiliation was the best punishment."

"Hear, hear," Sirius said, causing her to break into a smile. "So he cheated on you 'cause he thought you were with me?"

"That's part of it, but it's also because I'm not near as pretty as Wilcoz."

Sirius let out a laugh, "Wilcoz? She's hideous, I mean, even after Lily hit her with the Furnunculus Curse."

Demi glared at him, "Yeah, but what about before that? I mean, she peaked you interest, didn't she?"

Sirius groaned, "I knew asking her out would bite me in the ass." He looked back up at Demi, whose eyes showed signs of tiredness, "She peaked my interest because she was the only person who was near enough to be as beautiful as you. I wanted to make you jealous, love."

Demi was silent for a few moments. Sirius braced himself for the moment when she'd start to yell at him, but was surprised when she began to laugh. "You took her to the party because you'd thought that making me jealous was a good thing?" She hiccupped before saying, "You've a lot to learn about girls, my friend."

Sirius took a deep breath before saying, "I wanted to make you jealous because . . . . I like you. A lot."

Sirius looked over to his right at Demi whose eyes were open in shock, "Wait, what?"

Sirius ran an agitated hand through his hair, "I never had a problem with Lockhart or Golde, not until you went out with them. I never wanted to date anyone, unless I was sure it would make you jealous. If they didn't, I dumped them. I wanted to get a rise out of you. I wanted to see . . . ."

"See what?" she asked, confused.

"If you liked me back?" he said weakly.

Demi was quiet for a moment, her mind going a thousand miles a second as she listened to Sirius. "So . . . you like me?" she whispered.

Sirius groaned, "Are you actually this thick or do you just lack social skills?"

Demi opened her mouth in shock, "I am not thick!" she shot. "It's not my fault you never told me!"

"NEVER TOLD YOU?" Sirius shouted, jumping up, and running a hand through his hair, "I told you in third year, and in fourth year, and I practically told you at the Yule Ball! I've practically been screaming it since the beginning of time! Can you not read body language?"

Demi jumped up as well, enraged. "It's kind of hard to read body language when there's always some other girl snogging the living daylights out of you!"

Sirius cringed, turning away from her.

"Remember Christine? Remember Irene? Remember all the girls you supposedly shagged before the winter holidays?" she yelled back. There were tears in her eyes as she and Sirius faced one another. Feeling slightly faint, she leant back on the wall, wiping her tears with her sleeve.

"I did shag them . . ." Sirius muttered softly.

If Demi had sniffed any louder, she wouldn't have heard him. "What?" she whispered, looking at Sirius's back.

"I did shag them" he said, turning around to face her. "But it never mattered to me . . . they never mattered to me . . . . they weren't you," he whispered, his grey eyes searching her watery black ones.

A few tears slid down Demi's cheeks, "I had a dream . . ."

"What?" Sirius said looking confused.

Demi wiped her eyes, "I had a dream that you and I were walking down in Hogsmeade, and that you were kissing me." She took another shaky breath, "You see, I like you too."

Sirius took a few hesitant steps towards her.

"But at least I wasn't shagging people left, right, and centre!" she said in a stronger, slightly annoyed voice.

Sirius was confused and annoyed, "Oh come on! Are we back to that?" he asked.

Demi grinned, "Yeah we are! And the least you could do is act like you never enjoyed it!"

"Don't you think you're asking for a bit much?" he replied, grinning as well.

"Well speaking as a completely objective third party observer with absolutely no personal interest in the matter-" Demi began.

"Yeah, well can you speak as my girlfriend, or is that too difficult?" Sirius replied amused, yet agitatedly.

"You're what?" Demi faltered.

Sirius filled in the last few feet between the two, "My girlfriend" he said, placing emphasis on the 'girlfriend' part.

Demi's lips twitched into a smile, which matched Sirius'. "Well" she began, placing her arms around his neck, "speaking as _your girlfriend_ I would have to say that no, I am not asking for too much. In fact, I'm asking for too little."

"Oh yeah?" Sirius said, pressing her up slightly against the wall.

"Yeah," Demi replied, cocking an eyebrow at him.

Sirius quickly lifted her up, as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He was about to kiss her, before thinking better of it and moving over to her ear, "What about James?" he whispered, nervously.

He knew Demi was smiling when she said, "Screw James."

Sirius smirked before kissing Demi.

His girlfriend.

 **Well, final-f***ing-ly! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I WANTED TO WRITE THIS!?**

 **Read and Review. . . . please?**


	18. Hiding

Sirius was getting very . . . passionate?

Demi didn't know what to think for the first few minutes, as she and Sirius snogged. She was too busy running her hands through his hair, and trying to press him as close as she could. It wasn't till he was becoming slightly . . . _gropey_ and was beginning to move her shirt up, that she became quite tense.

Sirius felt this and backed away, just enough so that he could look at her. "Are you okay?" he asked, sounding worried and concerned, "Did I-"

Demi shook her head, "No, it's just . . . all at once" she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked into Sirius' wide grey eyes, as he lowered her back on to the ground.

"So, you don't want this?" he asked backing away from her, sounding incredibly hurt.

His words cut through Demi like burning blades. She walked back over to him and smiled, "You have no idea how much I want this" here she gestured to the pair of them. "I just want to take things a little slow, know what I mean?"

Sirius nodded, "Absolutely, anything you want love." He smirked before pulling her in for another kiss.

"Wait till the others hear about this," she murmured against his lips, smiling.

Sirius quickly drew back, "Shit!" he said, running an agitated hand through his hair. He looked at Demi, the worry in his eyes growing, "We can't tell James."

Demi looked at him, confused. "Why not?" she asked.

He collapsed onto the sofa and put his face in his hands. Demi took the seat beside him, and waited for his response. "James wouldn't forgive me if I went out with you," he croaked.

"Are you dating James or me?" she asked, making Sirius smile to some extent. She threw and arm around his shoulders and said, "Look, we can't hide this. He'd find out, and when he does, we'd be in more trouble that we would've been had we just told him."

She tried to put as much reason and force into these words, but inside she knew Sirius was right. James would not want his sister dating his best friend. To James, that would be the highest level of treason. This, along with the fact that James' attitude towards the possibility of them dating had grown colder and colder as he and Demi grew closer.

Sirius groaned, "Even if we do tell him, you're the one that has to live with him for the next two months, and I don't think he'll be all that pleased with you. Or me, either."

Demi nodded her head, "And besides, the last thing we want to do is make it public, then break up."

Sirius looked up at her, "Break up?" he said incredulously. They'd literally just gotten together, and the girl was already talking about breaking up?

"Oh, calm down for a moment and let me explain. If we told everyone, and then we fell apart or something, it would be hard to convince the others that we're still okay hanging around one another. Because, let's face it, if that does happen, it'll cause a slight divide because we've the same friends."

Sirius considered this, "You're right. And they'd make a big deal about it as well."

"That too" Demi said, nodding. "The point is, if we keep it under wraps, just long enough that we're sure this is working, then it's worth telling people. Otherwise we'll be getting their hopes up as well."

The two exchanged looks of weariness and agreed. "So we're not telling anyone?" Sirius asked to clarify.

"Nope" replied Demi, leaning back on the sofa, "We're going to pretend like everything is normal when we're in public."

Sirius grinned before leaning over, "and in private?" he whispered in to her ear.

"We'll do exactly what we were doing three minutes ago," she said, smirking.

The pair sat together for a while, just enjoying one another's company, before Sirius checked his watch. "Shit! It's 1 in the morning! We should head back."

They quickly jumped up and clambered underneath the Cloak, before heading out of the room and to the right hall, which would lead them back to the Fat Lady.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, they were standing in front of her whispering, "Agapanthuses." Yawning, she opened the door, and they were heading up to their dorms.

"Goodnight" Demi said, giving Sirius another kiss.

"Mmm, night love" he replied, as he watched her go up the stairs, before going up his own. He opened the door to the room he shared with the other Marauders, and was pleased to see that it was filled with their snores. He folded up the cloak and placed it at the top of James' trunk before turning to his own bed, changed, and climbed in. He was finding it quite hard to fall asleep that night . . .

Demi tiptoed into her room, and was relieved to see that all four girls were snoring away. She managed to make it to her room, trying to avoid tripping over the numerous items that scattered their floor. She made it to her bed, where she promptly got changed, and tucked herself in. She was willing to bed that Sirius was finding it just as hard to fall asleep as she was . . . .

The next morning brought sunshine and wonderful weather, yet a majority of the students were still sitting in the Great Hall for breakfast, some having finished ages ago.

The girls woke up, and were surprised to see Demi in her bed.

"We waited ages for you, but you never came," Kiaria said, as she pulled on a pair of trousers.

"Yeah, we thought you'd gotten yourself hurt or something," Lily added, as she came out of the bathroom, with a towel wrapped around her.

Demi stretched as she pulled on the Queen shirt she'd gotten for her birthday and pulled on a pair of black pants, "I was fine. I just needed some time to get my head on straight," she said as she did her laces.

Alice nodded, "Makes sense, you'd been together for so long." She waited for Demi to respond, but the girl had a glazed look on her face. "Dems?"

Demi jumped, "Hm? Yeah, I'm hungry. I'll wait for you in the common room." She stood up, and headed through the door.

Marlene and Lily exchanged concerned looks, "I think she'll need time," Marlene said, as she pulled on her shoes.

Demi was expecting the common room to be filled with people, but it was empty. All except for one armchair. "Hey Remus" she said, collapsing across from him. "Sirius told me about Nirvana. I'm sorry."

Remus waved her apology away and smiled, "I'm actually glad it's over, you know?" Demi gave a bemused look as he continued. "It was beginning to get to me. All this sneaking around and hiding part of my life from people, it just wasn't worth the trouble in the end."

Demi remained silent until she heard the others coming down the stairs.

"Hey Moony, ready for breakfast?" Peter asked, as he and the other four boys headed to the portrait door.

Remus got up and rubbed his stomach, "I'm so hungry I could eat a hippogriff."

"Hey that's my line," Sirius cried indignantly, as he too was swept away with the others. Demi sighed, before putting on a smile and following the others.

The minute they'd entered the Hall, everything went quiet. Demi looked over to the Ravenclaw table and saw Jeremiah with two black eyes, sitting between his mates who also looked as though they'd been jumped. She remained silent about it until she reached the Gryffindor table and was seated along with the others, "What's that about?" she asked.

She didn't need to explain further, and was told in full detail (with the help of the girls, who'd arrived minutes later) about what had occurred after she'd stormed out.

"So that's why they're all looking at us," she muttered, pouring herself some coffee.

"No, they're looking at you," Marlene corrected.

Demi gave her a look of curiosity and it was Frank who answered, "You were a little scary last night. Brilliant, but scary."

Demi smirked, "He deserved what he got."

"And more," Sirius added from beside her. While he was chomping down on cereal, his right hand was wrapped tightly over Demi's left. The pair, hadn't gotten a moment alone all day and were finding it quite hard to sneak away from the others.

Finally, at around two, there was a moment of calm, while the others went on the last Hogsmeade trip of the year. McGonagall was inclined to let the girl go and was going to the Gryffindor common room to let her know. She was then told by the other fifth years, who were just about to leave, that Demi was at Hagrid's and wasn't up to go anyway.

"Very well then. And you all better behave," here she looked at the three Marauders. "Where's Mr. Black?" she asked suspiciously.

"He's with Demi. One of us likes to stay behind and he volunteered," said Remus.

McGonagall gave them all a curt nod, before heading out of the common room and down the seventh floor corridor. She turned left and was surprised to see Sirius and Demi sneaking around. She stopped, hidden behind a huge pillar and watched as the pair looked around for signs of other students, before giving each other a quick peck on the lips.

"Well finally," she muttered, her thin lips in a smile as she strode off to her office to mark some of the remaining papers.

"I'm so glad I've been banned from Hogsmeade," Demi said, as she and Sirius hung out in the room of requirement.

Sirius was laying across the sofa, his head in Demi's lap as she played with his hair. "So, what now?" he asked. Demi had just told him what Remus had said to her that morning.

"Well, he's kind of right, but it all comes back to how comfortable we are in letting other people know."

Sirius gave her a strange look and she continued, "Well, I'm not sure James would be inclined to leave us alone if he knew. You're his best mate, and you've probably told him everything about what you've done with other girls," she reasoned.

Sirius grimaced, "Yeah I have. 'No secrets between Marauders'."

"Exactly. Now if James knows this information then it makes sense as to why he'd fear you going out with me. He'd think you'd want to treat me the same way."

Sirius got up and turned around, pinning Demi into the corner of the sofa, "No . . . I'd treat you a billion times better. Because the difference here is that I actually care about you."

Demi smiled, "Well I would hope so."

Sirius moved closer and began placing kisses all over her neck, and a second later she'd jumped up, and nearly knocked him off of her.

"Too close? Was I too close?" Sirius asked, looking worried once more.

Demi gave him a pitying look, "I'll tell you verbally when you're too close. But that's not the point," she stood up and picked up the map. "The point is, we've got several ways to get into Hogsmeade, and this is the final trip of the year. The least we could do is make an effort, otherwise the others would suspect something. They wouldn't think it normal if you didn't try."

Sirius nodded, "Humpback witch?" he asked.

"Yes," Demi replied nodding.

They quickly exited the room and made their way down to the Defence classroom and a moment later, Sirius had tapped the witch and muttered _"Dissendium."_ He dropped down first, and caught Demi as she slid down. Together with the light of their wands, they headed down the passageway and continued to talk. It must have taken them an hour, as they felt the steps rise and soon, Sirius was near the top.

"Stop or you'll hit your head," Demi hissed. She climbed a few steps higher, her hands held over her head, and a second later, the pair found themselves in the cellar of a familiar sweet shop.

"Honeydukes" they said in unison.

She quickly placed a disillusionment charm on herself and Sirius, just so that they could crawl out of the cellar unseen. They passed through the store and saw Alice and Frank snogging intensely by the Acid Pops. They continued towards the door, holding hands and slipping past students.

Once outside, Demi managed to catch a glimpse of Christine, who was wearing a thick layer of makeup, which could not obscure the pustules on her face. "Poor girl," Demi muttered as she watched Christine and her few friends head into Scrivenshafts.

"She deserved it," Sirius murmured in her ear. A moment later, Demi had lifted the enchantment and the pair headed over to the Three Broomsticks where, upon entering, they saw the Marauders, Marlene, Kiaria, and (she didn't look quite happy about where she was) Lily, who stood up, waved to them,a nd began to make room in the large booth they'd occupied.

Sirius paid for two Butterbeers and the pair headed over, sliding in on opposite sides; Sirius next to James, and Demi next to Lily.

"McGonagall came to see us, like five minutes after you'd both left," James said as the pair began to drink.

"Why?" they asked in unison.

"She wanted to give Demi permission to come to Hogsmeade. I guess she felt like she was being too harsh," Remus replied.

"Well, I'm here now!" Demi said, taking another swig of Butterbeer.

They all continued to talk. And laugh as James was shut down by Lily for what must have been the thousandth time.

"Potter, I will **not** under any circumstances **ever** go out with you, so stop badgering me!" Lily said, smiling slightly.

James shrugged, "Fine, then I guess I can't make you an honourary Marauder," he replied, taking a sip of butterbeer.

Lily choked, "You think I want to be a Marauder? God, you're an idiot."

James looked slightly amused, "Hey, for all you know I probably got all Outstandings on my OWLs, so watch who you're calling an idiot."

The jab about the OWLs must have set Lily off, as she talked on and on about what she thought she may have received. The one sided conversation (or speech) went on for the better part of a half hour until Peter cut her off.

"We know you got ten OWLs, so just give it a rest," he said wearily before returning to his drink. He had the most cause to be concerned and was likely to scrape by with all A's at least.

"Well we know who won when it came to Defence," Marlene said, looking past Lily at Demi, who had reddened. "Top of the year, if I remember correctly."

"Yeah, from studying" Demi muttered, before exchanging dark looks with Sirius, who promptly checked his watch.

"It's already 5 o clock, we should be heading back," Sirius stood up and Demi followed suit.

"Why?" asked Kiaira.

"I'm supposed to be at Hagrid's remember? I think McGonagall would find it very odd that I came back from Hogsmeade without her telling me expressly that I could go, don't you?" Demi replied.

Kiaria nodded, "Gotcha."

"Wait, then how'd you get here?" Lily asked, looking at the pair curiously.

"Sorry Lils, you've got to figure that out on your own just like we did," Demi smirked as she and Sirius left the bar.

Demi reapplied the Disillusionment Charm before heading into Honeydukes, past the counter, and down the steps to the cellar, where she pushed open the tile, and climbed down.

The moment they'd closed the trapdoor, she lifted the Charm, and the pair ignited their wands before heading back off to the castle, arm in arm.

"Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" Sirius said, resting his head on hers as they walked.

"Mmhmm," she murmured, placing hers on his shoulder.

They continued in silence for the rest of the journey. The thing was, it wasn't an awkward silence, but rather, and enjoyable one. They knew each other enough so that they didn't seem to mind when they had silent moments like these. Demi knew exactly what Sirius was thinking, and Sirius knew what Demi was thinking.

To Sirius, just knowing Demi was by his side made him happy. He didn't have to wait, to suffer through the heartache, or the pain of seeing her with someone else. She was with him. And he was with her.


	19. Home Again

The last few days were spent with Demi and Sirius sneaking around and hoping sincerely that the others (James especially) did not figure out what was going on.

Needless to say, James had his mind on other things. Well, one thing in particular; Lily.

Having spent the past five years getting told 'no' was becoming tiresome to the others, but James continued to haunt Lily. He'd asked her out on several occasions, and Lily was losing her patience. On the platform, she'd hexed James with a toenail curse, and left him howling as he attempted to pry off his shoes.

"He deserved it," Lily said when asked for her reasoning. "I mean, you can only be patient for so long."

Frank smirked, "I'm surprised you lasted this long without bringing magic into it." He and Alice were sitting together in the compartment, along with Marlene, Demi, and Kiaria.

"I've only been here for one year and I don't even want to ask you out," Marlene said as she rested her head on Kiaria's shoulders.

The two girls had grown close, having spent a majority of their time with a couple (Alice and Frank), and while no one was sure whether the pair were going out or not, they were beginning to place bets on when the news would become public.

Something that Demi and Sirius found, the others were doing to them.

" _Did you know Moony has ten galleons on us getting together?" Sirius asked one day, as the pair were sitting in the Room of Requirement._

" _Smart man, that Remus" Demi replied as she and Sirius talked._

"So, what are you doing for the holidays?" Marlene asked, snapping Demi out of her reverie.

"Oh, I uh, dunno. Just going to hang around with James and play Quidditch I guess" she replied, putting her feet up on the seat infront of her. "You?"

Marlene sighed, "Weddings. Too many weddings."

"I never minded weddings," said Frank. "For example, Bilius Weasley was at a wedding that I went to, and he was the life of the party. Downed an entire bottle of Firewhiskey, ran to the centre of the dance floor, hitched up his robes and started to pull flowers out of his-"

He was cut off as the sound of laughter carried on from the aisle. The Marauders had been standing there looking for seats and heard the entire story.

"Oh, that's hilarious" said Remus, wiping his eyes, as the other three roared with laughter.

They quickly sat down with the others, much to Lily's displeasure.

"I have to go to the Weasley's when I get back," said Alice. "Molly's had her son and, if the rumors are true she's about to have another child."

Kiaria whistled, "That's a bloody factory."

"Seems painful as shit though," Demi added, as she and Kiaria exchanged disgusted looks.

"Wait, you don't want kids!" Sirius shouted from beside Frank, who gave Sirius a rude hand gesture.

Everyone turned to face him, and watched as his face grew red. "Carry on, carry on" he muttered, glancing around the compartment.

Demi shook her head, while the others gave him bizarre looks. "Anyway, she's already had two kids, and last I remember she just had Bill," Demi said.

"Time flies when you're having fun," muttered Peter.

"I don't think that taking care of a living thing counts as fun, Wormtail," grumbled James, as he pulled out a pack of exploding snap.

"Those are banned Potter," said Lily, sticking out her hand. "Give them to me please."

James gave her an incredulous look, "Oh come on Evans, just try to rebel at least once before school is completely over. We won't tell anyone, we swear." He placed his hand over his heart and nodded to the other Marauders to follow suit.

Lily was getting quite tired of James' foolish tendencies and headed out into the corridor for some, "non-idiot polluted air." She slammed the door of the compartment shut and headed down the carriage.

"Well, you seem to have pissed her off nicely," said Demi as she shuffled the cards, which Lily had forgotten to confiscate.

"Yeah, well what are you going to do, huh?" James muttered as he picked up his cards and began to add to the pile.

"Maybe you should deflate your head a bit," said Kiaira, ducking Jamea' arm.

James laughed, "My head is not that big, okay? She's just exaggerating." He placed another card on top and the minute Peter bent forwards to do the same, the deck blew up, singing his eyebrows.

Frank regarded Peter for a moment, "That reminds me; we're going to be learning human transfiguration next year, aren't we?"

The Marauders and Demi exchanged looks, while Marlene nodded "Yeah we are! I've never been so excited! I mean, imagine being able to change how you look just by the flick of your wand!"

"The pranking possibilities are endless" said Sirius, making the others laugh.

Just then, they heard a loud 'BANG' come from the end of the compartment, followed by a cloud of thick, purple smoke. They all stood up and drew their wands; James and Remus being sat by the door opened it quickly and headed down the aisle.

There, by the entrance to what was commonly known as the Slytherin Carriage was Lily, her wand out and an amused look on her face. Remus looked past her shoulder and saw a boy with dark purple tentacles all over his face.

"Severus?" asked Remus, looking down at the boy curiously.

"And don't you dare speak to me again!" Lily said, before turning on her heel and budging past Remus and James, who was laughing uncontrollably.

"Oh, oh, she's really outdone herself this time. Well done Evans," James said, clapping and laughing.

Severus gave the two boys a disgusted look before getting up, dusting himself off and heading back in to the Slytherin carriage.

Remus and James headed back to their compartment, where Lily was sitting down, her wand still out and a slightly furious expression on her face. "I didn't mean to hex him, it just happened!" she told the others.

"What did he do?" asked Peter, who was interested in how she managed to give the boy tentacles.

Lily sighed, "I was going to get some air, and I was heading down that way and completely forgot it was the Slytherin carriage. So as I was heading past, Severus showed up and tried to apologize to me again. I told him to stuff his apology up his, you know, (here James sniggered) and I made to turn around. Then he called my family some not-nice words and the next thing I knew, he was laying in front of me covered in tentacles."

"Ah, non-verbal magic. Well done Lily!" said Demi, giving the girl a high-five.

"Shit, we're going to have to learn that next year too!" Alice said, groaning aloud.

Lily laughed at Marlene's comment as she gazed out of the window and saw the counties flying by. "I can't lie though. Ever since Christmas I've dreaded returning home. Petunia's going to be a nightmare when I get back," she said.

"Come on Evans, don't let the muggles get you down," James said, reaching over and patting her on the back.

Lily gave a small smile, "Thanks Potter."

James immediately froze, midway through another pat. "Did- did Evans just thank me?" he asked Sirius, who nodded, looking quite frightened at the maniacal expression on his friend's face.

James jumped up and gave a little whoop of glee, before sitting back down and beaming around at the others. "She thanked me, you know" he said to Peter, pointing over to Lily as though she could not hear him.

Remus glared at Lily, "Now you've set him off."

"And I'm going to have to deal with," here Demi did an accurate impression of James anytime Lily said something to him. "'thanked me, you know. That's what she did . . . Evans' for the rest of the summer!" Demi huffed, looking at Lily and then back at James, "Goddamn it."

The others watched in amusement as James continued to act, for lack of another word; mental.

They all continued to talk until they felt the train slow to a stop in King's Cross, and once they'd unloaded their belongings and were standing on the platform did they truly feel as though the year was over.

Frank was the first to split from the group, watching in horror (along with the others) as his mother pushed her way through the crowds, visible to all by the large stuffed vulture that sat on her hat. Frank quickly said goodbye to them all, before heading off to his mother.

Kairia was next, and was greeted by her mother and father, who helped her load her stuff on to a trolley as she said goodbye to the others.

Marlene was slightly shocked and happy to see her mother standing by the barrier, hoping to catch a glimpse of her daughter. The others watched, smiling, as Marlene and her mother made their way through the barrier.

Alice was shocked to see one of her cousins from Greece here to pick her up from the platform. The young man, who must have been about 17 or 18 was quite handsome and took to Demi and Lily immediately, kissing the pair's hands before leaving abruptly, having noticed the looks on James and Sirius' faces.

Soon, Demi and the Marauders were guiding Lily to the barrier, behind which her parents were waiting to collect her. She and Demi hugged for several minutes, "Feel free to stop by if Petunia's giving you a hard time."

Lily nodded, taken aback by the gesture.

"Yeah, anytime Evans," said James, hoping to get in on Lily's good side before she left. "You can stay in my room, and I'll sleep on the sofa" he added as an afterthought.

Lily shook her head as she went through the barrier. Demi turned to James, who looked quite pleased with himself, "I have nothing to say to you."

Peter was next to go, and was greeted by his mother, who shook hands with the others before disapparating with her son.

"We're going to learn that too," said Remus, looking at where Peter and his mother had just been standing.

"Can't wait! Then I can truly run from home" Sirius said bluntly, turning to the others. "Well gents, I'll see you around," he gave them all a curt nod, before getting a hug from Demi, who, unknown to the others, shoved a piece of parchment into Sirius' coat pocket.

"Stay with us whenever you like Padfoot," said James, patting Sirius on the back.

"Our door's always open," Demi added, watching as Sirius plowed through the crowd towards his mother, who was clicking her tongue and tapping her foot impatiently. She grabbed Sirius by the scruff of his collar, with Regulus linked on her arm before she too disappeared.

Remus waved to his mother, who'd just emerged on the platform and stood by the barrier. With a parting wave, he too left.

"So, ready to go home?" James asked Demi, as they picked up their things.

"Definitely," she replied, and they headed through the barrier back to another summer.


End file.
